SANTO DOMINGO -- A raging fire killed three people and injured 31 others in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, news reaching here quoted its Civil Protection Office (DPC) as saying Thursday.

The fire broke out Thursday in a building that housed Haiti's old Maritime and Navigation Service, and spread to a neighboring market in the capital's Croix des Bossales district, the DPC said.

Firefighters arrived at the market minutes later, but it took them hours to bring the flames under control.

Those inflicted burns and respiratory problems from the fire were taken to three hospitals, local media said.