Department store fire kills 30

A fire at a department store in north-east China killed at least 30 people today, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Forty other people were injured in the blaze, which started on the second floor of a five-story shopping and entertainment complex in the city of Jilin, the report said.

The fire was discovered at around 11.20am local time and took four hours to put out, it added.

The cause was under investigation.