Fire kills five in plaza in east China's Fujian
17/12/2008 16:41
Five people died today in a plaza fire of undetermined cause in east
China's Fujian Province, local authorities said.
The fire originated in a
small cloth store in the Hanjiang District of Putian City shortly after
midnight. It took firefighters five hours to put out the blaze, which spread
over 1,500 sq m, according to the Hanjiang Information Office.
Officials said
five people died on the scene. Their identities were not immediately released.
No injuries were reported.
The store owner is being held in custody during an
investigation into the cause of the fire. A team of 50 social security and civil
affairs officials were discussing compensation with the victims' families and
other store owners who experienced losses as a result of the fire.
Fires
killed 1,198 people in China in the first 11 months of 2008, down 7.1 percent
year-on-year, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.
It said
electricity was the major cause of fires, accounting for one third of the cases,
with other reasons including carelessness, smoking and spontaneous
combustion.
Xinhua
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