Death toll increases to 16 in Chinese market fire

SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The death toll has increased to 16 in a fire that broke out Wednesday at a wholesale produce market in Shenzhen, China, fire officials said.

The fire at the Rongjian farmers market in southern Guangdong province began about 1 a.m. and quickly engulfed a 10,800-square-foot area, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Five people were injured

It took about 2 hours for 145 firefighters to put out the blaze, Xinhua reported.

Zhang Xiaowei, a spokesman for the fire department, said all the victims were inside four stores inside the market.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze.