Fire is burning strongly in the warehouse in downtown  Lhasa.

A major fire at a home appliances warehouse in downtown Lhasa has been put under control Thursday night. No casualties were reported.

The fire started at around 8 p.m. at the Sifeng Appliance storehouse, which was located 500 meters west of the Jokhang Temple, a famous Tibetan Buddhism temple, according to the Fire Brigade of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Police have closed off all the roads to the Jokhang Temple. Two armored vehicles were dispatched but had left the site as of 10 p.m.

Firefighters with eight fire engines have controlled the fire. They entered the storehouse as of 11 p.m. There was still thick smoke at the site.

Police said the cause of the fire is still unknown.

The storehouse covers an area of 2,000 square meters, with appliances worth more than 20 million yuan (2.94 million U.S. dollars), said Liu Jin, general manger of Sifeng Appliance.

The fire has been put under control Thursday night.

(Xinhua News Agency Decmeber 26, 2008)