XI'AN,- Police have detained a suspect allegedly to have caused a forest fire in Northwest China's Shaanxi province which killed eight villagers, local authorities said on Sunday.

The forest fire burst out at about 4:30 pm on Saturday near Fodong village, Xunyang county, according to the Xunyang county government.

Eight villagers were seriously burnt while they were trying to quench the blaze. They died despite of doctors' efforts.

An initial investigation showed that the fire was caused by the suspect,surnamed Zhang, whose careless use of fire triggered the calamity.

All residents near the fire scene have been relocated to safe areas. Fire fighting efforts continued on early Monday morning.