(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-21 19:58

HOHHOT -- A total of 1,120 armed police and forest workers are struggling to extinguish a forest fire in the Greater Hinggan Mountains in northeast China.

The blaze was spotted at about 11 am on Thursday in an area of virgin forest in the Oroqen Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, bordering Heilongjiang Province, said a spokesman with the regional fire-prevention headquarters.

No casualties have been reported but the fire is still spreading northeastward, the spokesman said.

"Dry weather and strong winds have made it difficult to quench the fire," he said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.