Apartment building fire kills at least 10

A fire in an apartment building in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region killed 10 people and injured nine others, authorities said Friday, in the second major structure fire in the country this week.

The fire broke out Thursday night in the regional capital of Urumqi. Flames spread upward from the 15th floor to the 17th floor, with smoke billowing up to the 21st floor, according to state media reports. The blaze took around three hours to extinguish.

An initial investigation found the fire was sparked by a power strip in a bedroom of one of the 15th-floor apartments.

The blaze set off a flurry of questions on Chinese social media about whether COVID restrictions had hampered the rescue or prevented residents from escaping.