Six people suffocated in a fire in an underwear workshop in the southern province of Guangdong on Monday, according to local firefighters.

The blaze broke out around midday in the five-store building in Gurao town, Shantou city, killing the three family members of the workshop owner and three more female workers.

The fire started in the first floor of the building. The workshop is situated on the first and second stories.

The 87 fire fighters managed to rescue four people from the fire, which was extinguished at 1.30 PM The cause of the fire is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)