Table tennis venue catches fire

A fire broke out yesterday at the nearly completed table tennis venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but damage appeared limited, officials said.

Flames could be seen coming from the roof of the building on the campus of the elite Peking University, and smoke billowed into the air as firefighters battled the blaze in the northwest university district of the Chinese capital.

The western side of the building was blackened by smoke but the rest of the structure appeared intact. A policeman at the scene said there had been no casualties.

Seventeen fire engines were involved in fighting the fire, and Xinhua news agency quoted the fire department as saying the main fire had been put out at around 10:40 a.m. (local time).

They were investigating the cause of the blaze. Preliminary inquiries indicated it had been caused by construction activity.

A construction worker told Reuters the fire had been caused by someone using an electric welder.

Construction of the glass domed 26,900-sq metre (289,600-sq ft) gymnasium started in September 2005 and was scheduled for completion next month, in time to host an Olympic test event in December.

One of 11 new venues being built in the city for next year's Games, the gymnasium will have a capacity for 8,000 spectators.

The building of the venues for the first Olympics to be held in China has progressed smoothly with none of the major delays which marked the preparations for the last Summer Games in Athens.

All 31 venues are due to be completed by the end of this year with the exception of the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, which has been delayed until March 2008.

The Olympics open on Aug. 8, 2008.