April 24 (UPI) — A fire at a karaoke bar killed 18 people in the Chinese province of Guangdong on Tuesday, police said.
The fire took nearly 30 minutes to put out. Little was left of the three-story structure once firefighters got the blaze under control, The New York Times reported. In addition to the deaths, five people were injured.
“According to a preliminary investigation, the blaze was arson,” Qingyuan police said in a statement. “Currently, the public security authorities are stepping up their investigation.”
Police said the main suspect is a man who got into an argument with patrons before he allegedly set the fire and blocked the only entrance with his motorcycle.
According to Xinhua, there is a 200,000 yuan (32,000 U.S. dollars) reward for information leading to his arrest.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.