Fire engulfs skyscraper in China’s Changsha, crew responds

A skyscraper in Changsha, a city in central China, was seen engulfed in flames on Friday afternoon. State media reported that the number of casualties was “currently unknown”. It is unclear what caused the fire.

Videos posted on social media show the blaze covering dozens of floors, with dense smoke rising. The tall building reportedly houses the offices of China Telecom, a state-owned telecommunication company.

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State media reported that firefighters were on the scene, curbing the fire. “Firefighters have begun work to extinguish the flames and conduct rescues at the scene”, news agency AFP reported.

Social media posts indicate that there were no casualties. A spokesperson of China Telecom also said that all employees have been safely evacuated from the building.

“By around 4:30 pm today, the fire at our No. 2 Communications Tower in Changsha has been extinguished. No casualties have yet been discovered and communications have not been cut off”, China Telecom said in a statement.

Have such incidents happened before?

News agency AFP reported that deadly fires in China are fairly common. A warehouse fire in China’s Jilin province killed at least 15 people and injured at least 25, state media reported in July last year.

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China’s fire safety standards faced criticism after more than a dozen children were killed at a martial arts school in central Henan province. The deadly blaze was reported in June last year.

What do we know about the building?

The building is located in the Chinese city of Changsha, which is in the Hunan province. The province has a population of about 10 million people, news agency AFP reported. The building was built in the year 2000 and is 218 meters tall. It has 42 floors.