AT least one person has died and 25 others are injured after a terrifying inferno ripped through a high-rise building in China.
Jawdropping footage shows the flames engulfing the tower block in the city of Taiyuan, about 300 miles southwest of capital Beijing.
The horror blaze erupted at around 8pm in the southern Xiaodian District, sources with the Taiyuan municipal government said.
All of the injured, seven of whom are in critical condition, have been rushed to hospital for treatment.
Horrified onlookers were recorded crowding around the burning building as firefighters raced to put it out.
Massive plumes of black smoke can be seen billowing up to the heavens and fiery debris rains down on the streets.
The fire, which broke out on the tower block’s exterior facade, has reportedly been extinguished.
Firefighters, police and emergency responders are carrying out search and rescue operations inside the building.
It comes after a catastrophic blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong made international headlines last November.
A heartbreaking 168 people were killed before firefighters from across the city managed to subdue the fatal inferno.
The terrifying blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in more than 75 years – spread through bamboo scaffolding used for renovation work around Wang Cheong House.
It quickly engulfed seven of the eight tower blocks and was exacerbated by faulty alarms.
Police say bodies have been found in apartments, stairwells and even on rooftops as residents tried desperately to escape the flames.
Residents said their complaints about the flammability of the materials had fallen on deaf ears, with authorities claiming they faced “relatively low fire risks”.
Sixteen people have been arrested in connection with the blaze.
More recently, eight people were killed in a horror fireworks blast just days before Chinese New Year.
A huge explosion ripped through a fireworks shop in a village in Jiangsu province, eastern China, leaving two others with minor burns.
The deadly blast was sparked when a resident set off the pyrotechnics too close to the store, according to the Donghai county government.
