The man, caught after authorities offered a reward, allegedly blocked building exit with motorbike
A fire in a karaoke lounge in southern China killed 18 people and injured another five, with police arresting a man soon after for suspected arson.
The fire started after midnight on Tuesday in a three-storey building in the city of Qingyuan in Guangdong province and was put out shortly before 1am local time, according to the police.
Police said the suspect, Liu Chunlu, was captured in a nearby village, after authorities offered a 200,000 yuan ($32,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of a 32-year-old man with burn marks on his hips.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, the man got into an argument, then used a motorcycle to block the building’s door and lit the fire.
Videos from the scene posted by local media show flames leaping from the building on a tree-lined street at night, with fire trucks and a crowd of onlookers on the road.
The five injured people are receiving treatment in a hospital, state TV said.
Karaoke – or KTV – is a popular activity in China, with even shopping centres featuring booths where people can sit and sing their favourite songs.
Larger KTV lounges often span across many floors in a building, with narrow corridors linking dozens of individual rooms together. The lounge where the fire occurred was smaller, with only one corridor for entry and exit, state TV said.
Deadly fires are common in China, where safety regulations are widely flouted and enforcement is often lax.
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