At least 18 dead after fire breaks out at China massage parlour

A fire that broke out at a foot massage parlour in China on Sunday (5 February) has killed 18 people and injured over a dozen, police said on Monday.

According to the public security department, flames surrounded Zuxintang foot massage and bathing parlour in Tiantai County in the city of Taizhou, killing eight people on the spot. The department also said that ten others succumbed to their injuries later at a hospital.

Authorities added that until Monday morning, at least 18 people were admitted in the hospital with serious injuries.

On Monday, the managers of the parlour were taken into custody for negligence, reports claim. Investigators were probing the cause of the fire.

Videos posted on Chinese social media website Weibo show thick black smoke billowing from the first and second floors of a six-story building in a downtown community, where the parlour was situated. People can be seen jumping out of the window to escape the fire.

Police has cordoned off the neighbourhood.

China has struggled to improve workplace safety. The country is also trying hard to change a deep-rooted business mentality that puts profits above all else.

Recent disasters in the country include a number of explosions at chemical warehouses in Tianjin - the world's 10th-largest port – in 2015, which killed around 158 people. Another mishap took place at the industrial zone of Lijin in Shandong in 2015.