Most victims in south China bar fire identified
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-29 15:39

Most of the 26 victims who died in a fire at a bar in south China's Guangdong Province on Christmas Day have been identified, the local police said on Thursday.

By Thursday, 22 dead bodies have been identified by their family members and four remained unidentified, said a spokesman with the public security bureau in Zhongshan.

He said the bureau is carrying out DNA tests to further identify the bodies.

The fire broke out Sunday night at an illegally-operated bar attached to Tandao Western Restaurant in Tanzhou Township of Zhongshan City. Twenty-six people died and 11 others were injured.

Among the dead were 21 men and five women, all aged between 16 and 29. Twenty-two of them were natives of Guangdong Province, two were from neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, one from central China's Hunan Province and one from Macao.

The 11 injured are under treatment at the Zhongshan People's Hospital and two other leading hospitals in the provincial capital Guangzhou.

Bar owners were detained shortly after the accident.

Investigation showed the bar was not equipped with any fire extinguishing devices and the safety exit was extremely narrow, making it difficult for the people inside to evacuate, said a government official.