22 killed in China restaurant fire

A restaurant fire in northeastern China killed 22 people and injured three on Tuesday, Beijing's state media said, with footage posted online showing fierce flames engulfing the building. The blaze erupted at lunchtime in Liaoyang city, about 580 kilometres (360 miles) northeast of the capital Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

"The incident has resulted in 22 deaths and three injuries," it added.

Footage shared online and verified by AFP showed the inferno engulfing the two-storey restaurant and smoke billowing skyward.

Other authenticated videos published on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, showed paramedics wheeling one victim on a stretcher into an ambulance and several firefighters battling the flames with hoses.