A fire at a mall in Huizhou city in South China's Guangdong province, on Thursday afternoon reportedly trapped about 20 people, the South China Metropolis Daily reported.

Those people were stranded in a cinema on the fourth floor of the Yiwu commodity wholesale market, a witness said, but the newspaper couldn't verify the source.

Police said a further 24 children were awaiting rescue in a restroom on the second floor, which was later denied by Huang Yanzhong, an official at the city's propaganda authority.

Firefighters extinguished major flames on the fourth floor. The fire is believed to have started in a warehouse on the east side of the building.

Eight ambulances and ten fire trucks have been deployed to the site.

Rescuers lift a faint family member of a trapped person into an ambulance after fire broke out at the Yiwu commodity wholesale market in Huidong city, South China's Guangdong province, Feb 5, 2014. [Photo/South China Metropolis Daily]