BEIJING –  Police in a southern Chinese city say a fire at a three-story building has killed 18 people and injured five others and that it was likely caused by arson.

The public security bureau of Qingyuan City in Guangdong province said police received a call around half-past midnight on Tuesday about the fire.

It said on its official account on the microblog site Sina Weibo that police, fire, health and other departments sent rescuers to the site and that the fire was put out at 12:55 a.m.

Police say that according to preliminary investigations, the fire was caused by arson and that authorities were stepping up investigations.