A supermarket fire that claimed seven lives on Aug. 18 in Xianju County, in east China's Zhejiang Province, was caused by an electrical circuit failure, local government sources said on Sunday.

The fire broke out at around 4:00 AM on Aug. 18 when flammable building materials at the 8-storey supermarket were set on fire by an electric circuit failure.

The fire was put out two hours later but not before seven people, including the market owner and his wife, had died. One person panicked and jumped to his death from the sixth floor and the others were overcome by thick smoke and suffocated, the sources said.

At least 10 people were injured in the fire, including three firemen and armed policemen, the sources added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2006)