Two firefighting trucks stop outside a warehouse in an industrial park in Wuhan,capital of Central China's Hubei province July 12, 2011.[Photo/China News Service]

WUHAN - At least 12 people were killed Tuesday in a warehouse fire in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei Province, according to a government source.

Firefighters have just put out the fire that started at 9:00 am Tuesday.

Eight people were rescued from the fire and rushed to the hospital, witnesses said. Conditions of the people are not known at this time.

Police have cordoned off the area and are searching for victims.

A spokesman with the fire brigade said most of the people were trapped on the second-floor of the multi-story warehouse after the fire broke out, and the fire sprawled over an area of 1,000 square meters.

Wuhan's party chief Ruan Chengfa and mayor Tang Liangzhi were at the fire scene to oversee the fire fighting and rescue work Tuesday morning.

The warehouse, located in an industrial park in Wuhan's economic and technological development zone, is rented by a latex firm. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.