Hanoi  - Battery-powered toy guns made in China likely triggered a fire at a Hanoi train station that killed five people and injured five more, firefighters said Thursday.

"The fire may have been caused by chemicals or by Chinese toys that were being loaded by porters," said To Xuan Thieu, head of Hanoi's Fire Prevention and Firefighting Department.

The blaze Wednesday was at Giap Bat Station, the main train station for lines running south from Hanoi. At the time, porters were unloading goods belonging to traders, including Chinese toy guns and containers of an unidentified chemical that had been held in a storeroom at the station.

The Thao Van Hoa (Sport and Culture) newspaper on Thursday quoted witnesses as saying they heard an explosion near the storage room, then saw high columns of flames.

The fire quickly spread to a railroad car carrying medical goods.

Eight fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters responded but were slowed by afternoon rush-hour traffic. The small doors of the storage rooms also impeded access.

"It took us two hours to extinguish the fire," Thieu said.

One of the five injured remained in critical condition while the other four were not severely injured, local police said.

Police said the investigation into the cause of the fire was continuing. (dpa)