BEIJING -- A fire at a club in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, near the border with Hong Kong, has killed 43 people and left at least 51 injured, state-run media said on Sunday.

The fire broke out at around 11:00 pm Saturday (1500 GMT), Xinhua news agency said. No other details were given in the report about the circumstances of the blaze.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, Xinhua said.

The popular Chinese portal Sohu.com quoted media reports saying that 88 were injured in the blaze, which Xinhua said has been put out.

Deadly fires are common in China due to the routine flouting or ignorance of fire and safety measures.

In 2000, 311 people died in a disco fire in the central city of Luoyang.

Last October, a fire at a shoe factory in Fujian province killed 37 people.