Fire in Northern China Nursing Home Kills 20

A tragic fire at a nursing home in Longhua County, located in northern China's Hebei province, has claimed the lives of 20 people, according to Beijing's state news agency Xinhua. The blaze erupted around 9:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Tuesday night, approximately 180 kilometers (112 miles) northeast of Beijing.

By 3:00 am Wednesday, authorities confirmed that 20 individuals had died in the fire. In response, other elderly residents were evacuated and transferred to nearby hospitals for further medical treatment and observation.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Fatal fires are unfortunately common in China, often attributed to lax building regulations and insufficient workplace safety measures. In January, a fire at a vegetable market in Zhangjiakou city killed eight and injured 15, while a similar incident in Rongcheng city in December took the lives of nine people at a construction site.