16 February 2004	Monday	24 Zilhaj 1424

BEIJING, Feb 15: Two separate fires in China killed at least 90 people and injured dozens more on Sunday, state media and officials said. A fire swept through a departmental store in northeast China's Jilin province on Sunday morning killing at least 51 people and injuring over 70, fire and hospital officials said.

Only hours later at least 39 pilgrims died and four were injured when a temple in eastern Zhejiang province's Haining city caught fire around 2:15 pm (0615 GMT), the Xinhua news agency said.

The causes of the fires are still unknown. The earlier fire occurred at a five-storey Zhongbai department store in the city of Jilin around 11:20 am (0320 GMT), officials said.

"The fire began on the first floor," Fang Wangyan, spokesman for the Jilin city fire department said. "A lot of people on the lower floors got out but many others tried to escape by going upstairs where the smoke became very thick."

He said the cause of the blaze was being investigated. "There were a lot of people injured and many are in serious condition so it is hard to say what the exact toll is.

"Over 50 have died and more than 60 were injured. The number of fatalities could rise," he added. Jilin city television station put the death toll at 51, while Xinhua said some 120 people had been pulled from the fire and 71 had been injured.

State television showed pictures of the firemen hosing the building with water as thick clouds of smoked billowed from the windows. The city of over four million people lies some 900 kilometres northeast of Beijing.

Some 60 firetrucks and over 260 firemen fought the blaze for three hours before the inferno was put out, Fang said. Ambulances from throughout the city were brought in for rescue operations, while the wounded were sent to a number of city hospitals.

Many of the wounded were injured after jumping from the burning building, while others received serious burns and inhalation injuries, a nurse at the emergency room of the city's Number Three Hospital said.

Xinhua said provincial vice governor Niu Haijun had been sent to the scene to direct rescue operations and the investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Besides housing a department store on the first and second floor, the building included a bathhouse on the third floor and a pool hall and dance hall on the fourth and fifth, Xinhua said.

"Most of the victims were found on the third and fourth floors," Fang said. "But right now we can't say whether they were shoppers who went upstairs to escape the fire or whether they were customers in the bathhouse or pool hall."

Locals said the department store was not in the city's most popular shopping district but that the numbers of shoppers was likely to peak on the weekends. -AFP