The cause of a hotel fire that killed five people and injured two last Saturday evening in Yanji in northeast China's Jilin Province has been identified, according to a local government official yesterday.

 

A neon light billboard and a car at the entrance to the hotel were damaged by strong winds on Saturday night. Flammable material was then blown through the open windows of the seven-storey Xinqiao Hotel and ignited hotel decorations, said Sui Qingjiang, a government official from the Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Yanbian, and member of the investigation team.

 

Local authorities have identified the five victims, all men, including a 47-year-old Russian who was in Yanji reportedly to see a doctor.

 

Two of the Russian victim's friends in China contacted the local civil affairs authorities on Monday, and the victim's wife is on her way to from Russia. Relatives of the four Chinese victims have arrived at Yanji and are negotiating with the accident investigation group for compensation, Sui said.

 

"Details of compensation will be announced in the next few days," he added.

 

The deadly blaze started at about 7:40 PM on Saturday when about 60 people were in the hotel including guests and hotel staff.

 

It took 130 firefighters and 26 fire engines more than two hours to extinguish the blaze. All of the victims perished on site.

 

"We noticed that the rooms of the hotel were all fixed with automatic fireproof installations and fire alarm buttons when we booked the room. However, all these fireproof installations seemed to be out of use when the disaster happened," one survivor said, who declined to be named.

 

In addition, the owner of the hotel and the hotel's electricians have been detained for further questioning by the local public security bureau, according to Cui Wende, another member of the investigation team.

 

(China Daily March 22, 2006)