Huge fire engulfs 26-storey building in Shijiazhuang

Towering inferno: Fire trucks spraying jets of water to douse the flames from the office block in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. — AFP

Beijing: A huge fire engulfed a 26-storey office block in northern China, with TV footage showing burning chunks of cladding falling off its facade, although no casualties were reported.

Authorities were investigating the cause of Tuesday’s blaze, which broke out early in the morning in Shijiazhuang city near Beijing and spread rapidly, eating into the insulation material on the outside of the tower.