It turns out that poorly installed electrical wiring was to blame for heating the floor of a house in Pudong New Area to temperatures so inexplicably high that district officials called in experts from a local university to check it out, local officials said Tuesday.

The unnaturally hot floor at a house in the town of Tangzhen had become something of a local mystery before the home's anxious owner called the district government for help Thursday, according a report in the Shanghai Morning Post.

District officials called in personnel from local fire, safety supervision, electricity, environmental protection and ecological bureaus, as well as experts from Tongji University to investigate, according to a post of the town's official microblog.

The investigators found that tenants who had rented the house's 100-square-meter first floor had added electrical wiring under the floor to accommodate the number of inhabitants.

The wires, however, weren't installed properly, causing heat to build up in the apartment. The floor was so hot that steam escaped when firefighters drilled holes 60 centimeters into the ground while trying to determine the cause. They found temperatures as high as 92 C underground and 69 C on the floor. Officials reminded residents to comply with local regulations.

Global Times