5 die in village fire in south China,196 houses burnt down

SANJIANG, Guangxi, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Five people have been confirmed dead in a village fire on Friday in Sanjiang County of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, rescuers said on Saturday.

A fire-fighting official said 3,276 villagers have fallen victims to the fire, as their houses were burnt down.

The official said that the county government sent 43 fire engines and mobilized 2,500 people to put out the fire, which broke out at 2:30 a.m. Friday. The fire was put out at 7 a.m.

A government investigation team led by Zheng Junkang, mayor of Liuzhou City, which administrates Sanjiang, found the fire was caused by the malfunction of the electric switch of the rice mill owned by villager Wei Xianting. The 70-year-old man and his four-year-old granddaughter were among the dead.

The Linluetun village is densely populated by people of Dong ethnic group, who are used to living in wooden houses. Fires are frequent in Sanjiang, according to local fire-fighting authority.