China Telecom fire: Fire engulfs 42-storey building in China

A massive fire has sent flames and black smoke pouring from a 42-storey skyscraper in central China belonging to the country’s largest telecoms operator, but no casualties were reported, officials said.

Dozens of floors burned in the China Telecom building in the city of Changsha, the capital of the central province of Hunan.

The city’s fire department said it sent 280 firefighters who were able to quickly extinguish the blaze in the 720ft building.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, China Telecom said in a statement. It said there was no disruption to mobile phone services, but social media users complained of being unable to use their phones.

This screengrab taken from a video provided to AFPTV by an anonymous source on September 16, 2022 shows thick smoke billowing from a skyscraper in Changsha, in China's central Hunan province. via Getty Images

Videos of the blaze showed one side of the building scorched black, with debris falling to the ground. Other videos from local media showed workers inside managing to evacuate the building.

An entire side of the skyscraper appeared to be engulfed in flames at one point.

In another video, dozens of people could be seen fleeing the scene as flaming debris rained down from the skyscraper's upper floors.

In a statement China Telecom confirmed the incident, saying it was extinguished "by around 16:30 (local time)".

"No casualties have yet been discovered and communications have not been cut off," a company spokesperson said.