A fire at a vegetable market in northern China’s Hebei province claimed eight lives and injured 15 others, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire in the city of Zhangjiakou, which was doused just over an hour after it broke out at about 8:40 a.m., the broadcaster added.
Huge dark billows of smoke hung over the market in the city’s Qiaoxi district, along with large flames, were shown in videos posted by other media on China’s Weibo microblogging site.
According to CCTV, the injured have been hospitalized for treatment and are currently in stable condition without life-threatening injuries.
The market, identified by some reports as the Liguang vegetable market, has been operational since 2011 and offers a variety of goods, including fruits, seafood, and electronics, as per data from company information platform Qichacha.
Traditional markets like this are often densely packed with shoppers drawn to their lower prices compared to supermarket chains.
Potential fire hazards in such markets include gas bottles, charcoal used for roasting meat, discarded cigarettes, and outdated infrastructure like ageing underground gas lines, which are frequently linked to fires and explosions.
Zhangjiakou, the city where the market is located, hosted events for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Major Market Fires In China
China has witnessed numerous major fires at markets in recent years, often highlighting safety lapses and ageing infrastructure in densely packed traditional markets.
These incidents underline the risks posed by inadequate fire safety measures, improper storage of flammable materials, and high shopper density.
One of the deadliest market fires occurred in 2008 at a wholesale market in Shenzhen, where a blaze claimed 43 lives.
Investigators attributed the tragedy to overcrowded conditions, insufficient emergency exits, and the improper handling of electrical equipment.
Similarly, a fire at a poultry wholesale market in Shanghai in 2013 killed 12 people, exposing systemic safety violations and delayed responses.
In 2019, a massive fire at the Baigou Mall in Hebei province destroyed over 700 stalls, causing significant financial losses but no casualties due to swift evacuation efforts.
More recently, in 2021, a blaze at a market in Chongqing injured several people and raised concerns about the safety of ageing infrastructure.
Common causes for such fires include overloaded electrical circuits, improper use of gas cylinders, and lack of adherence to fire safety regulations.
(With inputs from Reuters)
