Skyscraper in China’s Changsha caught in raging flames

• A massive fire has engulfed a skyscraper in the Chinese city of Changsha..
• The 42-story building houses a China Telecom regional office and is 715ft (350m) tall.
• Authorities say the flames have been extinguished and that no casualties have been reported.

A massive fire has engulfed a skyscraper in the Chinese city of Changsha, according to state media.

Social media footage showed massive flames racing up the 42-story building’s side as office workers rushed to evacuate.

Thick clouds of black smoke billowed from the structure, which houses a China Telecom regional office.

Authorities reported that the flames had been extinguished and that no casualties had been reported.

Images shared on social media showed firefighters aiming water jets at the blackened facade of the 218m (715ft) tall structure in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

At one point, an entire side of the skyscraper appeared to be engulfed in flames.

Hundreds of people were seen fleeing the scene in another video as flaming debris rained down from the skyscraper’s upper floors.

According to state media, the structure was finished in 2000 and is located near a major ring road in Changsha, the 10-million-person capital of Hunan province in south-central China.

It said state-owned telecommunications company China Telecom confirmed the incident, saying it was extinguished “around 16:30 (local time).”

“No casualties have yet been discovered and communications have not been cut off,” a company spokesperson said.

Large fires are common in China, where a massive chemical plant in Shanghai erupted in flames earlier this year.

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