The fire struck a residential area of Zhuping Village in Qingyuan County, southwestern Zhejiang, at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, local officials said.

The fire whipped through local houses, which are primarily constructed of wood and bamboo, consuming 75 dwellings in total, Bao Zuguang, an official with the county government told China Daily via telephone Thursday.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and losses have been estimated at 6 million yuan (US$723,000).

The fire was brought under control within five hours and completely extinguished by noon Thursday, Bao said.

The low number of casualties has been attributed to the time of the fire -- it broke out during the day when many people were not at home. Several people sustained mild injuries and two are still missing, including a 60-year-old handicapped woman, the official said.

"It took a long time to put out the fire due to the village's limited water resources as many small local rivers have dried up," Bao said.

More than 300 firefighters, police officers and local residents rushed to save lives and property from the fire.

However, some 700 people have been left with no place to live in, according to local officials.

The first shipment of relief materials including bed quilts, clothes, food and bottled water have reached the victims and a second shipment is on the way, said county leader Zhan Zhimiao.

(China Daily March 28, 2003)