Temple fire in Zhejiang kills 39 pilgrims
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-02-16 08:09

At least 39 pilgrims were killed and four others injured by a temple fire in Haining City of east China's Zhejiang Province, only three hours after a blaze that killed 53 in northeast China, local officials said.

The fire at a temple at the city's Wufeng Village of Huangwan Town occurred at about 2:15 p.m. when pilgrims were worshipping.

The fire was extinguished about half an hour later at 2:45 pm, police said. 39 bodies had been found and four injured people were rescued.

Officials including provincial Governor Lu Zushan, vice governors Zhang Mengjin and Wang Yongming, and director of the Zhejiang Province Department of Public Security Wang Huizhong had rushed to the scene to investigate and guide the rescue work.

The cause for the fire is under investigation.

A fire in a bustling shopping mall in Jilin City of northeast China's Jilin Province Sunday noon killed 53 people and injured another 71.