Rescue workers have found the bodies of five people who were
missing after a devastating factory fire in Pingyang County, east
China's
Zhejiang
Province, on Wednesday evening. That brings the death toll from
the disaster to 15, said sources from Zhejiang Provincial Fire
Control Brigade.
More than 40 employees were working in the factory when the fire
broke out at 7:30 PM Wednesday at the Wenzhou Glory Leather
Products Company.
Firefighters were not able to get the blaze under control until
about 3:00 AM the following morning.
At first, authorities believed that the fire killed only one
person and seriously injured two, but by 9:00 AM Thursday, the
number confirmed dead had risen to 10 and those injured to 12, with
five still missing.
All the injured are now hospitalized in stable condition.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The local
government held an emergency conference to discuss the need for
closer attention to safety procedures.
(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2004)
