CHINA:A FIRE sparked by a pyrotechnics show at the King of the Dancers nightclub in Shenzhen caused a stampede of young partygoers and killed at least 43 people, the latest shocking reminder of China's poor safety standards, reports Clifford Coonanin Beijing.
It was another bad weekend for public safety in China.
The nightclub fire in southern China, which left at least 88 injured, came as a gas explosion at a coalmine in central Henan province killed at least 31 people, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The fire broke out late on Saturday night at the illegal club.
It happened after a display of fireworks ignited the ceiling tiles, and the room quickly filled with toxic smoke.
"I saw people rushing out at about 11pm and all lights were off," club employee Yang Zhi told Xinhua.
Mr Zhi said he dampened his clothes and escaped with burns to his neck.
The owner of the club was being questioned by police, but no charges had been filed so far, Xinhua said.
Shenzhen is just over the border with Hong Kong in Guangdong province.
Eyewitnesses said there was a crush of people in a hallway trying to get out the front exit, ignoring staff entreaties to head for exits located at the building's rear.
Meanwhile, rescuers were trying to find anyone still trapped underground at the privately owned mine.
There were 108 miners underground when the accident happened and 64 of them managed to escape.
Both disasters come as China went on a damage limitation exercise to try and stop the fallout from a growing scandal over tainted baby formula and milk which has killed four children and made thousands ill.
China's worst recent nightclub disaster took place in December 2000, when a fire blamed on a welding accident burned a disco in the central city of Luoyang, killing 309 people.