Donations are being raised to support the reconstruction of the Liaoyuan Hospital in northeast China's Jilin Province, after a fatal fire claimed 39 lives and burnt parts of the hospital.

More than 1,800 hospital staffers have volunteered to join the fund-raising activity hoping the reconstruction work will start as soon as possible.

So far, the hospital, the largest in Liaoyuan City, has received funding of more than one million yuan (about US$12.8 million) from the provincial government and other medical institutes in the province.

The blaze burnt some 5,000 square meters of the four-storey buildings. All the in-patients treated at the hospital have been transferred to other hospitals for further treatment.

Most of the 39 victims killed in the fire have been identified and DNA tests are underway on other remains. An initial investigation shows that the fire was caused by an electrician, who has been detained by police.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2005)