At least 17 dead in restaurant fire in northeastern China

Beijing, Sep 28 (EFE).- At least 17 people were died and three were injured Wednesday in a fire at a restaurant in the northeastern town of Changchun, state-owned Global Times newspaper reported.

The local fire department received an alert call at 12.40am after a fire broke out at an eatery specializing in fried food.

At 3pm, the fire brigade and the rescue team had concluded their operations.

The causes of the incident remain unknown and are under investigation.

The person in charge of the restaurant was detained by the authorities, according to a statement from the local government on the social network Weibo, dubbed the Chinese Twitter.

Videos of the incident circulating on Chinese social media show the restaurant at street level, on the corner of a building located in a residential area.

Those injured have been taken to a hospital for treatment.

The incident was much followed in Weibo, where the hashtag related to it had received 37 million views within a few hours, with sympathy pouring in for the victims and basic reminders of fire safety for restaurants. EFE

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