Twenty people have died in a fire in an elderly home in the province of Hebei in northern China, the Beijing news agency Xinhua He said Wednesday.
The fire exploded around 9 pm (6 PM PKT) on Tuesday at the elderly home in Longua County, approximately 180 kilometers northeast of the Beijing capital.
Twenty people were confirmed dead by the 3 am (12 am pkt) on Wednesday, Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
“Other older people in the elderly have been transferred to nearby hospitals to obtain more observation and treatment,” said the state news agency.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.
An individual responsible for the elderly home has been arrested by the police, said the county government.
Mortal fires are relatively common in China due to lax construction codes and a often security approach in the workplace.
In January, a fire in a vegetable market in the city of Zhangjiakou, northwest of Beijing, killed eight people and wounded 15.
A month earlier, nine people died in a fire in a construction site in the city of Rongcheng from eastern China.
