A huge fire has broken out in a Shanghai building, killing at least 12 people and sending plumes of black smoke billowing across the city.

The 30-storey building was being renovated when it caught fire about 2pm local time (0600GMT), Chinese state media said, quoting witnessess who said they had seen people jumping from the windows of the blazing building.

More than 80 fire engines were at the scene trying to bring the fire under control, Chinese television said. The cause of the blaze is unclear, but construction scaffolding around the building caught fire first, and flames then spread to the main building, which has about 500 apartments.

The AFP news agency reported that at least eight people had died in the blaze, which saw terrified residents flee the building.

Survivor Li Xiuyun, 61, said she fled down the steps of the building with her husband, son and a granddaughter from their home on the 16th floor until they met up with firefighters who took them
to safety.

“The smoke was very strong and the glass of the windows was scalding,” she told AFP at the Jingan District Hospital, adding that she cut her feet on glass when fleeing.

“My son took off his socks and soaked them with water, and we used them to cover our noses. I stumbled on people on the floor when walking.”

The Jingan District Hospital said it had taken in 55 injured victims of the fire, nine of whom were in serious condition, according to state television reports.

Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan, reporting from Shanghai, was unable to confirm reports of people leaping from the building’s windows. “State media are reporting that, but we have no photographic evidence of it. There are a lot of bystanders in Shanghai looking at the fire right now,” she said.

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Source:Aljazeera and Agences.