At least 16 dead in Chinese shopping mall fire

July 18 (UPI) -- Sixteen people died during a shopping mall fire in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Wednesday night, officials said.

Zigong Municipality officials said in a translated statement that the accident happened in the Jiuding Building in Zigong City. City officials said more than 240 medical personnel were ordered to the scene along with 20 ambulances.

A preliminary report said the fire was possibly started by construction work on the 14-floor mall. China's Ministry of Emergency Management called on rescue workers and provincial officials to come up with a determination quickly.

Officials said 75 people were rescued from the burning building with 39 receiving medical treatment.

The death toll was originally 11 at the scene but had grown to 16 as the investigation into the fire continued overnight into Thursday, officials said.

It marked the third time this year that at least a dozen people had died in a fire in China. In January, a fire at a boarding school in central Henan killed 13 children. Days later, a fire at a mixed-use building in southeast China, killed at least 39.