BEIJING, March 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A huge fire engulfed a 26-storey office
block in northern China Tuesday, with TV footage showing burning chunks of
cladding falling off its facade, although no casualties were reported.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out
early in the morning in Shijiazhuang city near Beijing and spread rapidly,
eating into the insulation material on the outside of the tower.
The fire has been brought under control, and no casualties have been
reported so far, China’s national fire safety authority said in a social
media post.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed a massive plume of smoke rising
from the tower while burning debris fell onto the street below.
The post was accompanied by a video that showed the aftermath of the fire,
with one side of the tower almost completely blackened, while smoke continued
to rise from the building.
Other videos circulated by users on the Twitter-like Weibo platform
appeared to show towering jets of water sprayed by fire engines onto the
upper floors of the building as the fire raged.