A fire at a Jilin poultry slaughterhouse early on Monday morning killed at least 61 people, according to Xinhua:
Over 300 workers were in the plant when the accident happened, survivors told Xinhua, adding they heard a sudden bang and then witnessed dark smoke.
About 100 workers have managed to escape from the plant whose gate was locked when the fire occurred, said survivors.
The complicated interior structure of the prefabricated plant in which the fire broke out and the narrow exits have added difficulties to the rescue work, sources with rescue forces said. [Source]
Rescue efforts and investigation are still underway, Xinhua reports, but explosions from an ammonia leak or an electrical malfunction have arisen as possible explanations. Electrical fault was also the reported cause of a separate fire at a grain reserve in neighboring Heilongjiang province on Friday. No one was hurt in the blaze, but nine people were detained on Monday on grounds of criminal negligence. In another incident in the northeast, two people were seriously injured and two more remain missing after a pair of blasts at an oil refinery in Dalian on Sunday.
