Nine killed in China fire

BEIJING - Nine people died and two were injured in a fire that ripped though a residential apartment in east China’s Zhejiang province, authorities said Tuesday.

The fire broke out at about 8.15 p.m. Monday in the eight-storey building in the downtown area of Quzhou, 230 km southeast to the capital city of Hangzhou, Xinhua reported.

Nine people died on the spot. The two injured were sent to hospital and they were in stable condition, police said.

Witnesses said explosion was heard and they suspected it might be from a natural gas bottle that caught fire.