Deadly fire at China dormitory kills 13 students

At least 13 students are dead and another is injured after a fire ripped through a school dormitory in central China Friday night.

The blaze broke out inside a boys' dormitory at Yingcai School in Henan Province, killing 13 third-graders, according to Reuters, which cited China Newsweek — a weekly magazine published by China News Service. Third-graders in China are usually 9 years old.

The private school caters to nursery and primary-age pupils, according to China Daily.

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Firefighters extinguished the blaze after about an hour at around 11:40 p.m. and the head of the school was taken into custody, state media reported. 

Photos from after the blaze show charred windows on the third floor of the dormitory. All the windows on the building appear to be covered with guard rails.

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It was not immediately known what sparked the fire and an investigation is under way.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management called for screening to avoid "hidden fire risks in densely populated places," and a work team was sent to guide rescue and follow-up work, Xinhua reported.

The school gives students a break every two weeks but this was not a break weekend, Xinhua reported, citing local residents. Many of Yingcai's students are from rural areas, according to the publication.

The tragedy comes after a coal mining company building in a northern Chinese city killed 26 people and injured at least 38 in December. In April, 29 people died in a hospital fire in Beijing.