Market fire in Shanghai kills 5, injures 14

USPA News - Five people were killed Sunday and more than a dozen were injured when a fire broke out at a market in China`s largest city of Shanghai, state-run media reported on Monday. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but authorities have pledged to take action.

The incident began at around 8:30 p.m. local time on Sunday when a fire broke out in the dried food section of the Shanghai agricultural products central wholesale market, which is the largest wholesale market for farm produce and byproducts in Shanghai, China`s largest city by population. The state-run Xinhua news agency initially reported that six people were killed, but a later report revised the figure down to five. It said fourteen others were injured, including a 57-year-old woman and a nine-year-old girl who suffered serious burns. A third, unidentified person was also seriously injured. Xinhua said the cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but the municipal government said it had ordered an overhaul of fire prevention measures across the city. It said it would organize a special campaign to eliminate fire hazards and work to improve fire rescue mechanisms, without giving other details.