A fire at a nursing home in northern China’s Hebei province has left 20 people dead, state media reported on Wednesday.
The blaze broke out on Tuesday night at a care facility in Longhua County, around 180 kilometres north-east of Beijing, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
By Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed 20 fatalities. The remaining residents were transferred to nearby hospitals for observation and treatment.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Deadly fires are not uncommon in China, often attributed to lax enforcement of building codes and safety standards.
In January, eight people died and 15 were injured in a fire at a vegetable market in Zhangjiakou, another city in Hebei. A month earlier, nine people died in a construction site blaze in Rongcheng, in eastern China.
Officials have not yet provided details on the number of people injured in the latest incident or the condition of survivors.
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