At least 22 people have died after a grassland fire they were fighting in southwestern China turned and trapped them.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the 22 were among more than 2,000 people fighting the raging fire Sunday in Sichuan province. It says three others were badly injured.

The provincial website says 15 soldiers and two government workers died. The other five who died were civilians.

Calls to the Sichuan government office rang unanswered Monday.

The website said the fire was under control as of late Sunday as winds subsided. It did not say what caused the blaze.