At least 39 people are reported to have been killed after a fire broke out in a shop in the central Chinese province of Jiangxi, Paralel.Az reports citing BBC.

According to media reports, the fire started on Wednesday afternoon local time in the basement of a building in the city of Xinyu.

Dozens of emergency service workers have been sent to the scene and rescue efforts are under way.

A number of other people are said to have been injured.

Footage shared online by the state-backed Global Times showed clouds of smoke billowing from buildings and people jumping from windows. The videos have not been verified by the BBC.

President Xi Jinping has called for an investigation into the cause of the blaze and for the "resolute containment" of such deadly incidents in the country.

Wednesday's fire comes days after 13 schoolchildren died when a fire broke out in a school dormitory in the central Henan province.