South China's Guangdong KTV fire kills 18, injures 5; arsonist escaped

A fire that ripped through a KTV venue killed 18 people and injured another five early Tuesday in Qingyuan City, south China's Guangdong Province, local police said.

All injured have been taken to the hospital for treatment.

The blaze was extinguished at around 12:55 a.m. local time, less than half an hour after police received a report.

Initial investigations found Liu Chunlu, who was injured himself in the fire but ran off, had allegedly set the bar on fire.

The bureau has offered a reward of 200,000 yuan (32,000 U.S. dollars) for information leading to the arrest of Liu.

(CGTN)