Fire in Chinese coal firm’s office kills 25

BEIJING: Twenty-five people were killed in a fire at a coal company’s office building in China’s northern Shanxi province, state media said on Thursday.

The fire broke out at 6:50 a.m. at the four-story Yongju Coal Industry Joint Building in the country’s top coal-producing hub of Shanxi.

State broadcaster CCTV initially reported the fire killed 11 people and injured at least 51, before subsequently raising the reported death toll from the accident twice.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation. Calls to Yongju Coal Industry were not answered.