Rest home fire in central China kills 38 and injures 6

This photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency shows a fire-gutted rest home in Pingdingshan, central China's Henan Province Tuesday, May 26, 2015. A fire swept through the rest home in central China, killing more than 35 people and injuring several, Chinese authorities said Tuesday. The fire broke out Monday night in an apartment building being used as a privately run rest home in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province, according to a statement from the province's work safety administration. (Zhao Peng/Xinhua via AP) NO SALES (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Wu Zhongfeng, an man injured in a fire, receives treatment at a hospital in Pingdingshan, central China's Henan Province Tuesday, May 26, 2015. A fire swept through a rest home in central China, killing more than 35 people and injuring several, Chinese authorities said Tuesday. The fire broke out Monday night in an apartment building being used as a privately run rest home in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province, according to a statement from the province's work safety administration. (Xinhua via AP) NO SALES (The Associated Press)

BEIJING – A rest home fire in central China killed 38 people and injured six, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.

The official Xinhua News Agency said that the Monday night fire swept through an apartment building being used as a privately run rest home in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province.

Xinhua said two of the injured were in serious condition, and a rescue operation was underway Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire was unclear.

With a rapidly aging population and under-resourced social security net, China faces increasing pressure to provide safe and affordable care for the elderly.

In 2013, a disgruntled resident set fire to a rest home, killing himself and 10 others, in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.