HEBEI: Eight people have been killed and 15 were injured in a fire at a market in Qiaoxi District of Zhangjiakou City, north China's Hebei Province, on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported, citing local media.
The fire broke out at around 8:40 am (local time) at the Liguang market that sells vegetables and other essential goods. Firefighters, along with emergency response and medical teams extinguished the fire by 10:10 am (local time), Xinhua News Agency reported.
Search and rescue work was completed at midday. The injured received hospital treatments, and their conditions are reported as non-life-threatening, Xinhua reported.
As per Xinhua, the cause of the fire is under further investigation.
Videos posted on China's Weibo microblogging site showed huge dark billows of smoke hanging over the market, along with large flames, Al Jazeera reported.
The Liguang vegetable market opened in 2011 and sells items ranging from fruit and seafood to electronics, Al Jazeera reported, citing company data provider Qichacha.
Such marketplaces are usually crowded as people flock there, seeking to purchase things at a price lower than supermarkets.
Earlier, a fire at a shopping mall killed 16 people in the southwestern Chinese city of Zigong on July 17, VOA News reported, citing state media.