The city of Haining, in east China's Zhejiang Province, has demolished all illegally built places of worship following the fatal temple fire at Wufeng Village, Huangwan Town.

The fire, which broke out at 2:15 pm Sunday, swept through a shed-turned-temple built with straw and bamboo, killing 40 women ranging in age from 40 to 84. A preliminary investigation said negligence and cult-like superstitious activities might be to blame for the accident.

Xu Hui, vice-mayor of Haining, said the city had pulled down many temples that were built without official permission in 2001 and 2002. However, in 2003 residents in the city's rural areas rebuilt some places of worship with materials like straw and bamboo.

The Wufeng Village temple was built in June last year on the site of an older temple that was pulled down by the local government, said Xu. It was situated 30 to 40 meters from the main village road.

The local government has raised 80,000 yuan (US$9,640) to aid the victims' families, said Xu.

Police have detained a woman surnamed Zhou and a man called Chen Jianliang, two of the three organizers of activities at the site, for further investigation. Another female organizer, surnamed Lu, is still being treated in the hospital.

Local people say most of the worshippers at the activities organized by Chen Jianliang were elderly women who believed they could more easily get to heaven if they paid two to three yuan (24 to 36 US cents) to attend each Putang Confession ceremony.

The provincial Department of Public Security and the fire brigade dispatched 11 teams across the province Tuesday to supervise fire prevention work and identify fire risks.

Zhejiang will launch a fire prevention campaign through the media in rural areas, said Wang Huizhong, director of the Zhejiang Public Security Department.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2004)