BEIJING — A blaze roared through an apartment building on the blue-collar edge of Beijing, killing at least 19 people, many of whom were apparently migrant workers from the Chinese countryside who were trapped in acrid smoke, officials and local residents said Sunday.

The fire broke out Saturday evening in a two-story structure in the Daxing District, about 11 miles south of the Chinese capital’s prosperous downtown.

Firefighters spent three hours battling the fire, according to a news release from Daxing officials. Eight people were injured, and a “suspect’’ was detained, the statement said.

In a separate development Sunday, Moroccan state television reported that at least 15 people were killed and 5 others injured Sunday in a stampede as food aid was being distributed in the village of Sidi Boulalam, in the southern province of Essaouira.

Distributions of food aid are common in the North African nation, notably in remote parts of the country.

The deaths in Beijing were a jarring reminder that the capital city of one of the world’s booming economies is divided between its wealthy, well-guarded core and poorer, scrappier outskirts.

Downtown Beijing is crowded with new skyscrapers, shopping malls, and wealthier middle-class residents. This was the side of the city on show last month, when a Communist Party congress in the Great Hall of the People reappointed President Xi Jinping as party leader for five more years.

New York Times