Apartment building fire in China’s Shanxi province kills 14

A fire in an apartment building in Taiyuan, in northern China’s Shanxi province, killed at least 14 people. The rising death toll highlights continuing concerns about fire safety in the country, where deadly blazes have been linked to weak enforcement of building and workplace safety rules.

The fire started at about 5pm on Sunday and was extinguished that evening; search and rescue work has since been completed. Thirty-eight people were taken to hospital, and the cause remains under investigation. China began a campaign to address fire hazards in high-rise buildings last November; other recent fires include one in Guangdong that killed 12 people and a shoe factory blaze that killed at least 28.