A reporter (L) stands by the front gate of the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco, the United States, on Jan. 2, 2014. The United States is "deeply concerned" by reports that the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco was damaged in an arson attack, the State Department said Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Yilin) 
 

Reporters stand by the front gate of the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco, the United States, on Jan. 2, 2014. The United States is "deeply concerned" by reports that the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco was damaged in an arson attack, the State Department said Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Yilin)

The main entrance of the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco was destroyed by an arson attack on Wednesday night, which is still under investigation by US authorities.

According to a statement by the consulate posted on its website, the attack took place at 9:25 pm local time on Wednesday.

The attacker got out of a minivan parked in front of the consulate building, threw two buckets of gasoline at the front gate of the consulate and set it alight, leading to severe damage to the front gate, said the statement, adding that the case is still under investigation.

Officers from the San Francisco police and fire departments and the US State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security arrived at the scene immediately after the attack, it said.

"The arson is a malignant violent case targeting a Chinese consulate in the US, which led to severe damage to the consulate's facilities and threatened the safety of consulate staffers and residents in the neighborhood. We strongly condemn this despicable act," said the statement.

Local TV station ABC7 News reported that a sign was left near the consulate building, which read "human rights in Tibet," but it was not clear whether that was connected to the fire.

The news channel also showed a video taken after the fire, which showed the scorching of the front door goes up three stories on the building.

The consulate said it has already made representations with the US over the attack, urging them to take all necessary measures to provide adequate protection for Chinese consular personnel and properties, and bring the culprit(s) to justice as soon as possible.

Photos of the fire taken by a Net user, who happened to drive through the area, soon went viral on Chinese social networking sites on Thursday.

The Net user, who is a Chinese student studying in the US, told the Global Times that he passed the consulate at around 9:32 pm, and saw the fire going up to the second floor of the structure and creeping onto the sidewalk.

The San Francisco-based Bay City News quoted a local fire dispatcher as saying that the blaze was reported at 9:33 pm on Wednesday and was brought under control at 9:42 pm, and no injuries were reported.

Several hours after the arson attack, Wang Chuan, spokesperson of the Chinese consulate, told the Global Times that the fire had been extinguished. "The main damage took place at the front gate, where one side of the door was scorched by the fire and another side had to be dismantled. A stone lion in front of the building was also scorched," Wang said.

According to Wang, there was no security guard at the front door of the consulate when the attack took place, but the surveillance cameras recorded the process and filmed the suspect.

Insisting the consulate is still waiting for the investigation results from the US authorities, Wang declined to reveal to the Global Times the suspect's race or age, but only said the surveillance footage showed the attack was carried out by a man.

However, the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV reported that the suspect was an Asian man wearing jeans and glasses. As of press time, no suspect had been detained and no organization had claimed responsibility for the arson.

Wednesday's fire was not the first time the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco came under attack.

In 2008, just before the torch of the Beijing Olympic Games reached San Francisco for the relay, the consulate was set on fire.

Tibetan separatists, who staged several protests in the city before the arson, denied any involvement in the attack.

In December 2011, a gunman fired a number of shots at the Chinese Consulate-General in Los Angeles, but didn't cause any injury. The gunman later turned himself in.