A fire that started in an Internet cafe in Xiangyang, Hubei province, on Sunday killed 11 people and injured 50, authorities said.

"Preliminary investigations found that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit," the Xiangyang government said in a statement. "Further investigations are ongoing."

Survivors are being treated for burns and arm and leg fractures at five nearby hospitals. Three victims remain in serious condition, the city's health bureau said.

A doctor at Xiangyang Railway Central Hospital, who gave his name only as Liu, said a rapid response team consisting of 30 experienced medics had been deployed shortly after the incident.

On Sunday morning Liu's clinic received 10 injured victims. Four later died, including a 5-year-old girl, he said.

The blaze started at 6:30 am at the Internet cafe on the second floor of Yijing City Garden Hotel in Xiangyang. Flames then spread to the rooms above.

"There are 50 rooms in the hotel, and 42 were being used," said a manager at the hotel who declined to give his name. "Most guests were awakened by the fire and heavy smoke and tried to flee the scene."

Liu Yong, a witness, said: "To escape, some guests jumped from windows on the fourth and fifth floors, breaking their arms and legs."

Firefighters were cleaning up the site on Sunday, according to the Xiangyang government's publicity department.

The blaze came just three days after a fire at another Internet cafe in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. Although no casualties were reported, 80 computers were destroyed, along with the building's air-conditioning system.

Old electronic wires were blamed as the cause of the accident.

"Aging facilities and poor management are the main reasons leading to fires in Internet cafes," said Li Lin, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law.

"Authorities such as industrial and commercial administrations as well as public security departments should carry out regular security checks of the Internet cafes and severely punish owners who are unqualified or operating illegal businesses."

Contact the writers at zhangyan@chinadaily.com.cn and zhoulihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/15/2013 page4)