At least 13 children killed after horror fire rips through boarding school dormitory in China as one arrested

AT least 13 students have been killed after a fire broke out in a boarding school dormitory in China.

The children were said to be third grade students, believed to be aged around nine, China Newsweek reported.

At least 13 students died after a boarding school fire in China

The fire broke out at 11pm on Friday at Yingcai School in Yanshanpu Village, near Nanyang City in Henan province, China Central Television Station and Xinhua News Agency said.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and the head of the school was taken into custody, the reports said.

Yingcai is a private boarding school with a kindergarten and an elementary school, said The Paper, a Shanghai government-backed news outlet.

The school gives students a break every two weeks but this was not a break weekend, The Paper said, citing several local residents.

Many of Yingcai’s students are from rural areas, it said, adding that the fire broke around 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday.