At the embassy, firefighters slowly won the battle against the flames. The Chinese had been using the building as living quarters as well as offices.

Fire crews raised ladders through billowing smoke as they searched for people who may be trapped in the embassy. About 30 members of staff were there at the time of the attack.

Serb paramedics carried wounded staff away from the embassy.

Chinese civilians later gathered to survey the damage inside the embassy. Hundreds of people in China itself took to the streets in protest against Friday night's bombing.

Firefighters sifted through the rubble of the embassy after daylight broke.

Nato said its targets also included a hotel, the Hotel Jugoslavja, close to the Chinese embassy - believed to be used by the paramilitary leader known as Arkan as a barracks for his Tigers forces and command centre for Kosovo operations.

Arkan, or Zeljko Raznatovic, posed outside the casino of the Hotel Jugoslavja after it was hit during the Nato attack.