One fifth of a village in southwest China's Guizhou Province was destroyed in a fire Monday afternoon. It broke out at approximately 4 p.m. in the Dingdong Village, a Dong minority village in Congjiang County.
In all, 92 houses burnt down. It took fire fighters an hour to extinguish the blaze.
There were no casualties or injuries, a county government official said.
Authorities are investigating the official cause, but some villagers attributed the fire to someone burning charcoal for warmth. A spark could have ignited the wooden houses where most of the residents were living.
There were 465 households in Dingdong Village. It is unknown how many people were displaced by the fire.
Food and tents have been sent to the village, said an official.
(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2009)