An average of 1,046 people die of 76,000 winter fires annually in China in the past five years, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

The direct economic loss caused by winter fires was estimated at 420 million yuan (61.5 million U.S. dollars) a year, it said in a statement.

The ministry statistics showed that more rural residents die in winter fires, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total fire death. It didn't give the reasons.

Massive winter fires early this year prompted Chinese authorities to beef up safety measures and promote public awareness.

On Jan. 31, a fire in a Latin-style bar in Changle City, Fujian Province, killed 15 people and injured 24 when 10 young men and women at a birthday party set off fireworks at their table and ignited the flammable decoration materials in the ceiling.

A blaze on the night of Feb. 9 engulfed a 30-story building which housed the nearly-completed luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel, part of the new headquarters of the state television station. The fire killed a fireman and injured seven people.