A fire broke out after a serious gas leak on Friday in downtown Shenyang, an industrial city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The accident took place at Nanwuma Road, a major traffic artery around 8:00 AM, when workers who were carrying out repairs in the area broke a gas pipeline, said local sources.

Strong winds fanned the fire, which burned power lines, causing temporary cuts in power and gas supplies in the nearby areas.

A dozen fire tenders were dispatched to the site, but fire fighters were having difficulty approaching the blaze.

No reports of casualties are available and the damage caused by the fire has yet to determined.

But workers responsible for repairing the pipeline said the gas supply in the downtown area would be affected.

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2007)