A stuntman was killed in a surprise fire during the filming of John Woo's new film.

The accident took place near the Chinese capital on Monday morning during a scene in which a small boat rams into an ancient warship, reported Beijing News.

The stuntman, 23-year-old Lu Yanqing, was killed when "an unchoreographed flame jumped 30 metres into the air", setting the boats alight.

According to the rescue team, the crew may have accidentally sparked a flame, which in turn ignited gas on one of the boats, starting the fire that killed Lu.

Three other people with unspecified injuries were taken to hospital.

"The fire broke out early Monday morning when the crew were shooting a scene in which a small, smoking boat crashed with a large ancient war vessel," Xinhua news agency said.

Director Woo, best known internationally for his films 'Face Off' and 'Mission Impossible II', was in Hong Kong at the time of the accident.

The film, 'Red Cliff', is an $80-million epic adapted from classic Chinese novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. Set in the third century it recounts the decline of the Han dynasty and culminates in the battle of Red Cliff, which saw 2000 ships destroyed by fire.

Starring Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung and Japan's Takeshi Kaneshiro,the film is divided in two parts, with the first episode due out before August's Olympic Games.