A total of 65,000 fire accidents occurred from January to May this year in China, which have claimed 587 lives and injured 239 others.

The direct economic losses left by those accidents totaled 550 million yuan (about 80.8 million U.S. dollars), a 38.3 percent decrease year-on-year.

The statistics was revealed on Sunday by fire control bureau with Ministry of Public Security which excluded the direct economic loss caused by a blaze swallowed the new building of China Central Television (CCTV) on the night of Feb. 9.

A fireman died and seven people, including six firemen and a construction worker, were injured in the CCTV's blaze. The ministry said the massive fire was still under government's investigation and its losses were pending.

The major causes of the fire accidents were incautious uses of electric equipment and fire, according to the fire control bureau, and 55.7 percent of the deaths were caused by fire accidents occurred between 20:00 and 6:00.

A No. 9 city bus in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan Province, caught fire in the morning rush hour Friday. So far local government has not given an official result of the investigation into the blaze's cause. A total of 27 passengers have died and 72 others were under medical attention with 18 were still in critical condition.

Source:Xinhua