Six women workers and a man are dead and one person was slightly
injured in a fire at a private clothing factory in Shantou, a
special economic zone in Guangdong Province, on Thursday.
The fire broke out at around 3:00 a.m. in Chaonan District when
11 workers were sleeping in the dormitory of the factory, said
police.
The factory was a five-storey building, with each storey
covering a floor area of 100 square meters. The ground floor was a
material store, the second and fourth floors were the workshop, and
the third floor was the building owner's apartment and the top
floor an employee dormitory.
Firemen rescued 11 from the building. Seven died in hospital
after medical treatment failed. Another woman with slight injuries
was reported to be in a stable condition.
The fire was put out at 3:30 a.m. and police are investigating
the cause.
(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2008)