At least 15 killed in fire thought to have been started by electric bicycle in eastern China

Hong Kong CNN —

At least 15 people were killed in a fire thought to have been started by an electric bicycle parked at a high-rise residential building in eastern China early Friday morning, state media have reported.

Forty-four people were also injured during the blaze that engulfed the 34-floor building in the eastern city of Nanjing, the media outlet CCTV said.

Two were in critical and serious condition while the rest suffered minor injuries, the state broadcaster reported, adding that all were hospitalized.

A preliminary investigation found an electric bike parked on an open floor of the building may have caught fire, according to the state broadcaster. Investigations are continuing.

Footage on Chinese social media showed a ball of fire spreading to the exterior of the building. Billows of smoke emerged from apartments on various floors, leaving burn marks on the facade of the building.

Authorities received calls for help at 4:39 a.m. and dispatched 20 fire engines to the scene, according to CCTV. The fire was put out at 6 a.m.

At a press conference early Saturday, Nanjing Mayor Chen Zhichang bowed to the public when he offered condolences and said he was “deeply sorry” to victims’ families and those who were injured, according to the Nanjing government’s official WeChat account.

He said officials were “deeply saddened” by the event, adding that an investigation is under way. “We will…give the victims and society an answer,” he said.

The blaze was a trending topic on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday, being viewed more than 470 million times by the afternoon.

A fire breaks out at a residential building in Nanjing on February 23, 2024.

Faulty electric bicycles have been reportedly linked to