Several shops were destroyed in a shopping mall fire early on Sunday in downtown Beijing with no casualties reported, sources with the local government said.

The fire broke out at around 1:45 AM in a food shop at the first floor of Xidan Shopping Mall, said an unnamed official with the Beijing Municipal Government.

More than 40 fire engines and 260 firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the fire and evacuated 79 workers in the shopping mall. The fire razed an area of 110 square meters and was snuffed out on hour later.

The official said cause of the fire is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2009)