Shopping mall fire contained in NE China

HARBIN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A fire that broke out Monday morning at a shopping mall in northeast China's city of Harbin has been contained.

The fire started around 9 a.m. in the Guorun Home Textiles Shopping Mall in downtown Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The fire consumed an area of 9,400 square meters over the course of three and a half hours before being stopped. Firefighters helped evacuate shoppers from the five-story building.

Guo Ping, a spokesman from the local command headquarters, said the fire may have resulted from a welding accident, adding that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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