China: restaurant fire leaves at least 22 people dead

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a restaurant fire killed 22 people and injured three others in northeastern China. The event occurred in the city of Liaoyang, some 580 km northeast of Beijing, in Liaoning province, bordering North Korea.

"At 12H25 (04H25 GMT) on April 29, a fire broke out in a restaurant," the official media outlet said. "By 14H00, the incident had resulted in 22 dead and three injured," it added.

A video shared online and verified by AFP shows a two-story restaurant engulfed by raging flames that gave off thick black smoke.

In other verified footage posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, paramedics are seen carrying a victim to an ambulance and several firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze with hoses.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the fire caused "significant casualties" and that the lessons to be learned were "profoundly serious."

Xi called for "all efforts to treat the injured, properly manage the fatalities and bring support to the families, quickly determine the cause of the fire and demand accountability in accordance with the law," the news network said.