More than 100 people managed to escape from a high-rise building fire in an east China city Wednesday, four months after a similar blaze claimed 58 lives in downtown Shanghai.
Fire fighters extinguished the fire around 8:00 a.m. and reported no casualties or trapped residents.
The fire erupted in Nanlong Plaza, an 85-meter-high commercial-residential building in downtown Yongkang City in Zhejiang Province at around 6:00 a.m.Wednesday.
Residents were seen crying for help from windows before being reached by rescuers. Some climbed down the rescue ladder on the building's exterior clad in nightclothes.
"The interior stairway was filled with smoke, so I had to climb down nine stories from the outside," said one female resident surnamed Lv.
Four people have been admitted to the hospital after excessive smoke inhalation, while one elderly resident remained in critical condition.
An initial probe has blamed an electric wire breakdown for igniting the fire. Police are still investigating the exact cause.
