A fire at a club in south China's Guangdong Province on Saturday night has killed 43 people and left 88 injured.

Local police said the fire broke out just before midnight at the King of the Dancers club, sparked by a pyrotechnics's display on the third floor.

The club is located in the Longgang District of Shenzhen just across the border from Hong Kong, and held hundreds of people at the time of the fire.

A staff member said many of the deaths and injuries happened during a stampede to escape through a narrow hallway.

"The fire wasn't that big, but there was a lot of smoke," said a man surnamed Zhang, who said he worked at the club."

He added: "Everyone was crowding towards the front entrance, because they didn't know about the one in the back

"We tried to tell them, but nobody would listen."

The Party chief of the province, Wang Yang, has ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident.

Police are questioning the owner of the club but no charges have yet been filed.

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