NANJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and four others injured in an apartment building fire in east China's Jiangsu Province early Sunday, local authorities said.

The fire broke out at 0:19 a.m. in an apartment building in Huhe village in the city of Changshu, leaving 130 square meters of floor space in debris, the city government said.

Nine people were sent to hospital, but five died after medical treatment failed. The other four are in stable condition.

Faulty electrical circuit in the apartment may have caused the fire, an initial investigation found.