At least 55 people were killed today in a major fire accident at a poultry processing plant in northeast China, charring the entire facility.
The fire broke out at around 6:06 am (local time) at a slaughterhouse owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Mishazi Township of Dehui City, Jilin Province, according to firefighters.
At least 55 people were killed in the fire, rescue headquarters confirmed.
Over 300 workers were in the plant when the accident happened, survivors were quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.
The survivors said that a sudden bang was heard and then they witnessed dark smoke.
About one hundred workers managed to escape from the plant whose gate was locked when the fire occurred, survivors said.
The rescue work was on at the facility that was charred by the accident.
The complicated interior structure of the pre-fabricated house in which the fire broke out and the narrow exits added to the difficulties in rescue work, sources with rescue forces said.
Media reports said that some more people were trapped in the blaze. The exact number of those trapped in the plant was not known.
