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Two hospitalized after car fire in downtown Beijing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-25 21:49

BEIJING -- The Beijing government information office has provided Xinhua with a statement on the car fire which occurred downtown Wednesday afternoon.

It said two of the three people, who were inside the car, were hospitalized for non-life threatening injuries.

Xinhua has confirmed with two separate sources that there were two men and one woman in the vehicle at the time of the incident. One woman and one man were taken to the hospital.

The information office statement mentioned nothing about the third person.

The statement said the "fire started suddenly" when police stopped the car and came forward to question the passengers inside at around 2:50 p.m.. Police then extinguished the fire.

The office said earlier that three people "set fire to themselves" while inside the car.

The statement went on to say, "police found something abnormal about the car" before they stopped it at the southern end of Wangfujing avenue.

"The three people came to Beijing for personal petitions," the Beijing government information office said.

The car had a non-Beijing license plate. But the people's identities have not been released.