A fire in a poultry plant in northeastern China has killed 119 people Monday, according to Chinese media reports.
Fire fighters in the province of Jilin told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua that the fire broke out at around 6 a.m. (22:00 Sunday GMT) at the poultry plant in Mishazi Township of Dehui City in the northwestern Jilin province.
It took around six hours to bring the fire under control. Some people are still believed to be trapped in the plant though the exact number is yet to be confirmed by the officials.
Xinhua reported that more than 300 workers were in the building when the fire broke out and about 100 of them managed to escape. More than 54 people were hospitalized with injuries.
Workers told the news agency that the fire broke out during a shift change.
Wang Fengya, 44, a worker at the plant said that the lights went out triggering panic among workers and everyone rushed to find an exit.
Another worker, Guo Yan, told the paper that the emergency exit for her workstation was blocked and she barely escaped through a side door.
"I could only crawl desperately forward," said "I worked alongside an old lady and a young girl, but I don't know if they survived or not."
Shanghai based journalist John Sudworth told BBC that the work place safety standards in China are often poor and such fatal accidents in large factories and mines are not uncommon in the country.
The poultry plant employs some 1,200 workers.
