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Beijing — Thirty-eight people were killed in a fire at a home for senior citizens in China’s central Henan province, state media said, the latest disaster in a country with a poor record on work safety.The fire broke out late on Monday at the “privately-owned Kangleyuan rest home in Lushan county”, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, citing local authorities.

The cause of the fire, which injured another six people, was unclear.

Rescue efforts were still underway.

China has a history of similar disasters. Workers are often poorly trained or ill-equipped to protect themselves from accidents.

A fire at a warehouse in Guangdong province killed at least 17 people in February, and a blaze at a poultry slaughterhouse in the northeastern province of Jilin in June 2013 killed 120 people. — AFP