Fire in Chinese capital kills 17 people

A fire has swept through a four-storey building in the Chinese capital, Beijing, killing at least 17 people.

State media said 24 others were hurt.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, in the southern suburb of Daxing.

Safety standards for buildings in China were recently revised after a big fire in November killed 58 people. A probe into that blaze showed that unlicensed welders had accidentally ignited netting around the building.

The fire started in the early hours of Monday morning.

Beijing's Communist Party secretary, Liu Qi, and the city's mayor, Guo Jinlong, have told investigators to "rapidly establish the cause", Xinhua news agency reported.

Source: bbc.co.uk