A couple and their two sons died in a house fire in east China's Zhejiang Province just after midnight Monday, firefighters confirmed Tuesday.

The house in Mojiahu Village, Yuyao City, had been rented by a migrant worker, surnamed Zhou, and his wife, surnamed Zhang.

Firefighters evacuated several other people from four houses that were also destroyed in the blaze. It took about 40 minutes to extinguish the fire.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, and Yuyao City said it planned an overall fire-safety inspection of rental houses.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2009)