(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-14 07:04

GUANGZHOU -- The 10 people who died in a fire at a restaurant in south China's Guangdong Province included five restaurant staff and five customers, a fire control official said on Thursday.

The five customers were migrant workers from other provinces and Huzhou city of Guangdong, said Zhang Xiaohong, director of the fire control bureau of Dongguan, denying reports that foreigners were among the victims.

The nine injured -- one seriously -- had been sent to two hospitals in Zhangmutou town where the Mingdian Western-style Food Restaurant was located, Zhang added.

Fire insurance experts from the Ministry of Public Security have arrived at the site to help investigate the cause of the fire.

The fire was reported at 5:07 p.m. on Wednesday and was put out in 15 minutes after spreading to more than 400 square meters, nine hours after another fire in east China's Zhejiang Province claimed 21 lives.

A senior official with the Dongguan government said the fire started in an air conditioner, possibly with faulty electric wiring, on the first floor and spread quickly, consuming many inflammable objects such as tablecloths, carpets, sofas and curtains.

All the people on the first floor escaped, but 10 on the second floor died, mostly of poisoning and suffocation, the official added.

Meanwhile, initial investigations found the fire in Zhejiang was also caused by faulty electrical wiring.