A fire in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, claimed eight lives and injured two others on Saturday.

The fire broke out about 9 pm in a shop in Suzhou's Huqiu district and soon spread to the second floor, where it claimed eight lives, before being brought under control some 40 minutes later.

Suzhou public security bureau's Huqiu substation announced on its website that a spark from an electric bicycle parked inside the first-floor shop started the inferno.

Local news portal Mingcheng News said two of the victims died at the scene and the others died in hospital.

Media reports claimed that the second floor didn't have access for firefighters and security windows had been blocked.