A luxury passenger liner carrying more than 460 sightseers, including 16 foreigners, and 50 sailors caught fire Tuesday at a wharf in Wushan, a city of southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality, local police said.

No casualties were caused in the fire, noted the sources.

The fire broke out at around 7:10 a.m. Tuesday after Jiangshan, a pleasure boat, shipping in the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Yichang, a city of central China's Hubei Province, moored at the No. 9 wharf in Wushan port.

Witness said the fire burst out in a cabin on the fourth floor and quickly spread to the fifth, leaving the whole ship suffused with heavy smoke.

Fortunately, most passengers were on the bank for sightseeing when the accident happened and some 80 tourists on board were timely evacuated off the ship, according to the police.

Local authorities and firemen rushed to the spot for rescue and the fire was put out at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Investigation into the cause and estimation to the losses are underway.

2005/06/15
Source: Xinhuanet