Scene of the accident.

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.

The two injured were a couple and were hospitalized at 4:47 p.m., said the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital where they are receiving medical treatment. The hospital specializes in burn injuries.

The man, 59, who was seriously burnt, had swelling to his throat and head and a severely injured respiratory tract. He may need a tracheotomy, a hospital official told Xinhua.

The woman, 58, who was less severely injured, had some of her fingers seriously burnt. The hospital said it was considering an amputation.

The couple are still in danger as in the case of inhalation injury, it needs 70 hours to escape from the dangerous period. The hospital is monitoring their situation and has made preparations for any emergencies, the official said.

Xinhua has confirmed with several sources that there were two men and one woman in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

The information office statement mentioned nothing about the third person.

An eyewitness, who refused to be named, told Xinhua two people in the car were taken away by an ambulance and the other by police.

The statement said the "fire started suddenly" when police stopped the car and came forward to question the occupants 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.