More than 60 people injured in a fire occurred Tuesday morning at a market in Changde City of central China's Hunan Province were been hospitalized, the rescue headquarters said in Shangsha Tuesday.

At least one fireman was encircled by raging flames, which is still ablaze due to strong wind and lack of adequate water supply.Some shops at the Qiaonan wholesale and retail market in Changde City have collapsed. The Wuling Township, where the market was located, was enveloped by heavy smoke.

Upon hearing report of the accident, Yang Zhengwu, secretary ofthe Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and provincial governor Zhou Bohua entrusted vice-governor Xu Yunzhao to organize the rescue operation, urging rescuers to spare no efforts in extinguishing the fire and reduce the casualties to the minimum extent.

Built in the early 1990s, the multi-storey wholesale and retail market houses hundreds of businesses with a multi-billion sales annually.

Investigation into the cause of the fire and the exact number of casualties is underway.

Source: Xinhua