11 die in China massage parlor fire

An early morning blaze at a foot massage parlor killed at least 11 people in northern China on Wednesday, a fire official said.

The cause of the fire, which broke out at 4:30 a.m. at the Lantian Foot Massage Parlor, was still under investigation, said a man at the Chengde county fire department in Hebei province, who refused to give his name. Two were injured, he said.

Footage aired on Hebei province television showed what seemed to be a small shop, burned almost completely black. The dead included the parlor's owner and 10 workers, the television report said.

Massage parlors in China are frequently fronts for prostitution. The employees of the parlors, legitimate or not, are generally rural migrants who sometimes live at the shops where they work.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency had reported earlier that the fire was at the Gedu Love Song Hall, a karaoke hall. But a telephone operator said the only karaoke hall in Chengde County was called the Huadu Love Song Hall.

A woman who answered the phone at the Huadu Love Song Hall said there had been no fire at her business, and a woman could be heard singing in the background.

China often has fires and other deadly accidents in public places, from shopping malls to hospitals, despite repeated safety crackdowns. Most are blamed on lax safety procedures and negligence.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects that fire was at foot massage parlor sted karaoke hall; ADDS details from television report.)