Furniture factory fire leaves three dead, three injured in southwest China

CHONGQING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- A fire at a furniture factory in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality left three workers dead and three others injured Saturday, local authorities said.

The fire started at about 4 p.m. at the factory that produces sofa in northern part of the city, when about 10 people were working in the main workshop, a spokesman with the Chongqing fire-prevention authorities said.

More than 50 firemen and seven fire engines were dispatched to quench the blaze, which was put out an hour and a half later, the spokesman said.

Some residents living nearby were temporarily evacuated, he said.

The workshop, with a floor space of about 300 square meters, were destroyed in the fire, he said.

The injured workers are being treated at a local hospital, he said.

Local work safety authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, he added.