Around 24,600 tons of cotton was destroyed in a fire on Monday at the China National Cotton Reserves Corporation's repository in Houma, Shanxi province, People's Daily reported on its website on Thursday.

The fire covered an area of around 10,500 square meters. The blaze started when a pile of cotton in the open air was struck by lightning, and spread to four storehouses. No casualties were reported.

Work is ongoing at the repository to clear up the damage, after the fire was brought under control on Tuesday evening.

There are 10 cotton storehouses in Houma, holding 36,000 tons of cotton.