According to local authorities, a fire that tore through an apartment building in eastern China resulted in the deaths of fifteen people and more than forty injuries.
A tower in Nanjing city was seen in flames and spewing plumes of black smoke in video that was posted on social media.
According to officials, the building's first floor—where electric bikes were kept—is where the fire may have originated.
However, the exact cause of the incident was still being looked into.
Situated approximately 162 miles (260 km) northwest of Shanghai, in the Yuhuatai area of Nanjing, a metropolis home to over eight million people, is where the building is situated.
According to authorities, emergency response teams were notified of the fire for the first time on Friday at 04:40 local time (20:40 GMT), early on Saturday morning.
130 firefighters and 25 fire engines were dispatched to put out the fire. The fire was put out by 06:00 (22:00 GMT), and the search and rescue effort was concluded by 14:00.
According to the officials, out of the 44 injured individuals who were transported to the hospital for treatment, one is critically injured, while another is gravely hurt.
Nanjing Mayor Chen Zhichang expressed his sympathies and apologies to the families of the dead during a press conference.
Following the extinguishment of the fire, aerial images of the skyscraper were released on Friday. certain apartments along the building's length had blackened front, this was seen from the images released.
In China, safety regulations are not strictly enforced, which leads to a high frequency of fatal accidents and fires.
President Xi Jinping made a plea for "deep reflection" and increased measures to "curb the frequent occurrence of safety accidents" last month in response to a recent wave of fatal fires throughout the nation.
The Nanjing fire occurred one month after a fire in a school dormitory in China's Henan province claimed the lives of thirteen students, ages nine and ten.
A few days later, a fire that broke out in a shop's basement in the city of Xinyu resulted in at least 39 deaths and nine injuries.