Authorities in central China's Henan Province were yesterday looking into the cause of a night-time fire that killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.

The inferno, which took place at the Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village, was reported to the local fire department at 11pm on Friday and was put out around 40 minutes later, Xinhua said.

Thirteen students died in the accident, while one other person suffered injuries.

Several windows on the side of the school were broken - the only obvious signs of a major accident at the building. Vertical metal bars were seen covering the school's windows.

In a video on Weibo, a father of a boy who died in the fire is heard saying blood samples had been taken from parents to compare their DNA with the victims.

"We parents haven't seen our kids yet... We can only see them when the results are available," he adds. "I can't accept it."

A teacher at the school told state-run Hebei Daily all the victims were from the same third-grade class of nine and 10-year-olds.

At least one person linked to the school has been detained, Xinhua reported. Investigations are still ongoing, although some domestic media reports suggested it was related to an electric heating device.

Yanshanpu village lies on the outskirts of Nanyang, a city of nearly 10 million people about 850 kilometres west of Shanghai.

The dormitory with charred windows is seen after a fire at the Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village. AP

Investigations initiated after dormitory fire kills 13 kids