Fire fighters have extinguished a high-altitude fire which engulfed dozens of hectares of virgin forest in Tibet, local police said on Sunday.

More than 260 fire fighters along with some 1,000 police and local residents fought the fire for five days. It started on Tuesday night in Konjo County of Qamdo Prefecture, east of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Dry and windy weather helped the fire spread over 46 hectares of forest located at an altitude of 4,900 meters.

Police had left the scene by Sunday noon, said sources with the Armed Police Tibet Forest Contingent.

There were no reported casualties or any local property damage caused by the fire. The cause of the fire remains unclear.

Konjo County has 142 hectares of primary forest, the second largest forested area in Tibet.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2007)