Huge fire rips 25 storey building in China's Shenyang, no casualties reported

A huge fire ripped through a 25-story residential building in Shenyang located in China's Liaoning province on Monday, December 2. The residential high-rise turned into a raging inferno in a couple of minutes. It is not immediately clear how many people were trapped at the time in the tower, which is part of a luxurious residential complex completed in 2003. There have been no reports of any casualties and the blaze has also been brought under control.

Read: Indian Navy Forces China's PLA Ship-To Return From Andaman Sea

No casualties reported

The Shenyang Fire Brigade successfully doused the fire and evacuated residents. Over two-hundred firefighters and 47 fire-engines being dispatched as soon as the fire was reported. It took emergency workers some three hours to put out the fire. No one was injured, the Shenyang Fire Brigade told local media. The actual cause of the fire is yet unknown.

However, it is being speculated that the blaze rapidly spread to the top floor as the building’s insulation caught fire. Flaming pieces of insulation breaking off and falling onto the lower parts of the building can be seen in footage of the incident doing the rounds on Weibo - China's own version of Twitter.

Read: This Varun Dhawan-Anushka Sharma Starrer Is All Set To Entertain China

According to Shenyang Fire Brigade, the fire started at around 9:15 pm local time in the SR International New City in the city's Hunnan District. The blaze started on the fourth floor on the northern side of the block A in No. 102 of the complex and quickly spread upwards, the fire brigade said in a post on Weibo - the Chinese equivalent to Twitter. Local authorities have announced that they will proceed with an investigation into the cause of the fire.

The incident drew parallels for many to the tragic fire that broke out at an apartment complex in Shanghai in 2010 which killed 58 people and injured around 71 more.

Shanghai 2010 fire

A similar fire in a 28-storey apartment building in Shanghai killed 58 people in 2010. Most of the victims suffocated from the smoke and fumes; another 71 people were injured. The fire was initially blamed on careless unlicensed welders setting alight the netting around the building.

Read: China Imposes Sanctions On US After Trump Signs Hong Kong Rights Bill

Read: TikTok App Sends Personal User Data To China, Claims A New Lawsuit

(With inputs from agencies)