Death toll rises to 16 from store fire in SW China

TOKYO, The death toll from a high-rise department store fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province has risen to 16 as of Thursday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the local fire and rescue headquarters. The fire in the 14-story building, located in a high-tech zone in Zigong City, broke out at about 06:00 pm (1000 GMT) on Wednesday, and there was a significant amount of thick smoke at the scene, according to the report. The rescue operation was completed Thursday morning, the report said, adding a preliminary investigation has indicated that the fire was caused by construction work. Source: Kuwait News Agency