Authorities have detained 24 people after a fire sparked by unsafe welding and cutting work killed 10 people in eastern China, state media said Sunday.

Three of nine injured people being treated in hospital are in critical condition, Xinhua news agency said.

Three of those killed in the blaze at the HNA Platinum Mix Hotel in the Jiangxi provincial capital of Nanchang were guests and seven were construction workers, it cited the city government as saying.

A preliminary investigation found the blaze was caused by welding and cutting work which violated safety rules, Xinhua reported.

It said hotel shareholders, the contractor for the project and workers have been taken into police custody.

Over 260 residents of a 24-storey apartment building connected to the hotel were evacuated after Saturday's blaze.

Fire safety is routinely ignored in China, with exit doors often locked and escape passages blocked.

Earlier this month, 18 people were killed when a foot massage parlour caught fire in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Seven died in a fire in an elderly care facility last month.