(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-08 11:00

HANGZHOU -- At least five people were killed in a fire that engulfed part of a residential building in East China's Zhejiang Province.

The fire erupted at 3:50 am on Monday on the first floor of a six-storey building in downtown area of Yiwu city, about 150 km southwest of the provincial capital of Hangzhou.

Firefighters found five bodies at the site of the accident and there has been no report of any injuries.

The blaze that only swept across the first floor was extinguished in 20 minutes.

Firefighters said some of the victims might be choked by the smoke that had spread up to the fourth floor.

The local public security, firefighting and work safety authorities have sent investigators to find out how many people were in the building when the blaze broke out and the causes of the accident.