CNN —Sixteen people were killed after a fire broke out at a shopping mall in southwest China on Wednesday, according to Chinese state media. Dramatic images showed a huge column of black smoke billowing from the 14-story building in the city of Zigong, Sichuan province. Rescuers work at the site of the fire in China's Zigong city on July 17, 2024. Such incidents are not uncommon in China, where enforcement of safety standards is often lax. In January, a fire at a mixed-use building in southeast China killed at least 39 people just days after another blaze at a boarding school in central Henan province killed 13 children.

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Organizations: CNN, CCTV, Visual China, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management Locations: China, Zigong, Sichuan province, China's Zigong, Henan