A building caught fire in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, early Tuesday.

The death toll in a building fire in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, has risen to nine, as rescuers found another body in the debris and two more victims failed medical treatment in hospital Tuesday.

Rescuers previously found the bodies of six people after a fire swept through an apartment and commercial building early Tuesday.

Rescuers are still searching the four-story building, which is owned by Hongkang Industry Co. in Qiaokou District.

An official with the fire department said the fire started at around 11 p.m. Monday on the ground floor of the building. It spread over 900 square meters of floor space before it was contained.

The ground floor was a food market and more than 20 people lived in the floors above. Most of them managed to escape the blaze.

More than 200 fire fighters were dispatched to the site and they rescued six people from the building, including an elderly man and a child.