China's school dormitory fire kills 13

At least 13 students were killed when a fire broke out in a school dormitory in central China’s Henan province, the official media reported on Saturday.

The fire at the Yingcai School in Henan’s Yanshanpu village was reported to the local fire department at 11 pm local time Friday night, The People’s Daily reported.

All of the dead were third-grade students, a teacher told Zonglan News, a state-backed media outlet from Hebei province.

One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China’s state broadcaster said.

Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 pm.

The manager of the school, near Nanyang City, has been detained and an investigation is under way, BBC reported.

No further details about the identities of the dead or the cause of the fire were released via official channels.

It was extinguished less than an hour after firefighters were alerted, Xinhua reported.

The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten.

Fatal fires in China are not uncommon due to lax enforcement of building and safety standards.

In November, 26 people died after a large fire ripped through an office building in Luliang City, Shanxi province.

A hospital fire in Beijing last April claimed the lives of at least 29 people – mostly patients – and triggered an investigation which saw 12 people detained by police for questioning.

The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten.

(With inputs from Reuters)