Two people died in a fire in an ancient town in the Hongjiang district of Huaihua, Central China's Hunan province, chinanews.com reported on Tuesday.

The dead were an 81-year-old man and a younger woman. An 8-year-old child injured in the fire was taken to a hospital for treatment.

According to a witness, the fire started at around 8:15 pm on Monday and was not brought under control until one and a half hours later. The bodies of the victims were recovered the next day.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.