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A member of popular idol girl group SNH48, was severely burned after her whole body caught fire in a coffee shop in Baoshan District Tuesday evening.

The district police confirmed that the woman caught fire during a 'dispute' inside the coffee shop near Baoshan Wanda Plaza at 7:45pm and she has been sent to hospital for treatment.

The woman has been confirmed as Tang Anqi, a 24-year-old member of the Shanghai-based idol girl group SNH48, according to the group's management company.

Police said that the woman had a dispute with her female friend, during which, she accidentally ignited her clothes with a lighter. She was reported to be wearing a down coat and silk stockings. A picuture taken by a witness showed the woman was struggling as her whole body was on fire.

The fire was later put out by the store workers and Tang was sent to hospital.

"She seemed to be fiddling with the lighter then. But none of us know what exactly took place as the staffers were all on the first floor of the store while the woman and her friend was staying on the second floor,' director of the cafe, surnamed Wen, told Shanghai Daily.

"She did not seem to be in a good mood," Wen said. The manager added that the two customers were not smoking and also did not order any food that would require the use of a lighter.

Tang picked up a seat in the corner on the second floor of the cafe. And that corner happened not to be covered by the store's surveillance camera, according to thepaper.cn.

Tang rushed to the stairway leading to the ground floor and screamed for help after she caught fire.

SNH48’s management company said on its official Weibo that Tang would need a large amount of blood transfusion and has called on its staffers to donate blood for her.

Changhai Hospital of Shanghai, where the woman was being treated, would not talk on the patient's situation.

Police are still making further investigation into the incident.

Tang hails from Hubei Province. SNH48 features dozens of young female artists professionally trained for singing and dancing stage performances. It is also the second sister group of AKB48 outside Japan.