Five people died and two are still missing following a hotel fire in northeast China on Saturday evening.

Authorities are still trying to identify the victims, which includes one foreigner, believed to be Russian.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the blaze that ripped through Xinqiao Hotel in Yanji, Jilin Province.

Hotel workers said yesterday the origin of the fire appeared to be a neon light that short-circuited on the exterior of the seven-storey building.

Official fire investigators are still trying to identify the exact cause.

According to an eyewitness, the blaze broke out at about 7:40 pm on Saturday, while more than 40 tourists were staying at the hotel. It was extinguished two hours later with the help of 26 fire engines and 136 firefighters.

"The fire started from the second floor and quickly spread above under the influence of a strong wind," said Zhao Honggang, who runs an airline ticket office on the building's ground floor. He rushed to the scene when he heard his business was in danger.

"All of a sudden, guest rooms from the third to top floor were all on fire," he said. With the help of hotel staff, he said, guests broke windows with chairs to escape.

Located in the downtown area, the hotel's three-star status means it should be properly equipped with fireproof installations.

City officials said yesterday they were busy identifying all of the bodies, investigating the origin of fire and contacting victims' families.

They said they would announce further details in the next two days.

"After the fire was put out, we sent rescuers to search room by room for survivors," said Tang Jiangang, a publicity official with the city government. "The hotel has been reduced to an empty frame."

He said it needed further confirmation if the foreign victim was from Russia.

A fire expert said yesterday that it was unusual that the fire spread so quickly from the second floor all the way to top.

"If insulating materials were widely used in the building, it would take a long time for the fire to reach the seventh floor much more than 2 hours," said He Shijia, a researcher of Sichuan Fire Research Institute under the Ministry of Public Security.

He said that although fireproof materials were required to be widely used in the hotel and restaurant construction, it may have been poorly executed. He added that arson, discarded cigarettes and short-circuits in electrical devices are common reasons for hotel fires.

(China Daily March 20, 2006)