• A restaurant fire in Liaoning Province, China, killed 22 people on April 29.
• The incident occurred during lunchtime, attracting significant attention from emergency services.
• President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire.

A fire at a restaurant in Liaoning Province, Northeastern China, resulted in the deaths of 22 people and injuries to three others on April 29. The blaze broke out at 12:25 PM local time in a busy lunch hour, as reported by state media outlets CCTV and the Xinhua News Agency. The incident took place in Liaoyang City, a significant distance from the capital, Beijing, according to reports from Indiatimes and Channel News Asia.

Emergency services rapidly responded with over 85 firefighters and 20 fire trucks on the scene. Eyewitness accounts described flames engulfing the restaurant and thick smoke billowing from the site. President Xi Jinping referred to the event as "a deeply sobering lesson," emphasizing the need for local authorities to investigate the cause and improve safety measures to prevent future tragedies, as detailed by Channel News Asia and Reuters.

As investigations continue, authorities have detained the person in charge of the restaurant, while initial findings suggest high flammability in the restaurant's materials may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. Past incidents highlight ongoing concerns with fire safety and building regulations in China, where such tragedies are not uncommon, according to ABC News and South China Morning Post.

The fire follows a worrying trend of deadly incidents within recent months, including a nursing home fire that claimed 20 lives earlier in April. The serious nature of these events continues to press the government to ensure stricter enforcement of safety guidelines across various sectors, as reiterated in reports from TRT Global and Indiatimes.