Blaze in China tower block kills 50

The death toll in a massive fire that gutted a tower block under renovation in Shanghai rose to 53 today, with more than 70 others in hospital.

A witness said the blaze began when building materials caught alight. The flames spread to scaffolding and then to the 28-storey apartment block, which houses a number of retired teachers.

The Chinese government said more than 100 fire trucks were called to battle the blaze, which was largely put out about four hours later. Firefighters could be seen taking bodies from the building, while survivors were rushed away in ambulances.

At Jing'an hospital, the father of Wang Yinxing, a 30-year-old woman who lived on the 22nd floor of the building, searched a list of survivors at the hospital but could not find his daughter's name.

"She called her husband and said It's on fire! I have escaped from the 22nd floor to the 24th floor', but then the phone got cut off," the father, Wang Zhiliang, 65, said. "That was the last we heard from her."