3 killed in NE China hotel fire

HARBIN - Three people have been killed and several others injured in a hotel fire on Saturday morning in Harbin, provincial capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, according to local police.

The accident occurred at around 10 am, firemen said.

A small hotel is burnt in Daoli district of Harbin city, July 7, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Witnesses said a middle-aged man carried a gasoline can into the Longfei Inn, set it on fire and left quickly.

The small hotel, located in Harbin's Daoli district, is in the basement of a seven-floor residential building. But it has no fire fighting equipment, according to residents living in the building.

The fire has been extinguished, and the injured rushed to hospital for treatment.

Local police are investigating the case.