Cause of deadly forest fire identified

TAIYUAN -- The forest blaze which killed six firefighters in Shanxi province in the past week was started by fire used by a local farmer, authorities said Sunday.

The villager, who was identified by his surname as Huo, from Dongwangyong village, Qinyuan county, was using fire when farming, which caused the forest fire, said a source of the provincial forest public security bureau.

The fire broke out at around 3:35 pm Thursday. More than 2,000 people were dispatched to battle the blaze. At about 5 pm, seven firefighters were trapped due to a sudden change in wind direction. They were rescued and rushed to hospital, but six of them died early Friday morning.

The forest fire was put out at about 6:40 pm Thursday.

Further investigation is underway.