(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-09 08:51

HAVANA - One fireman died and nine other people were injured due to a large fire that started on Monday afternoon at "El Encanto" store in Camaguey city, in eastern Cuba, Cuban press reported Tuesday.

Over 500 men from the Interior Ministry and the Revolutionary Armed Forces fought the fire for over six hours until they finally extinguished it.

However, the flames destroyed the two-story department store, the biggest in the province.

Jesus Garcia, head of the civil defense, said the fire was the worst  in Cuba in 30 years.

Officials were investigating the cause of the fire. Fires are not frequent in Cuba and most of them occurred in forest regions in drought seasons.