Jilin slaughterhouse rescue efforts race against clock

More than 24 hours after a deadly fire broke out in a poultry processing plant in northeast China's Jilin Province, rescuers are still racing against time in the hope of finding survivors.

The fire occurred at 6:06 a.m. on Monday at a workshop owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Mishazi Township in the city of Dehui, located about 100 km northeast of provincial capital of Changchun.

Firefighters, in their orange outerwear and white helmets, are now hard at work combing through the area and looking for survivors after the blaze was put out at noon on Monday.

Zhao Xian, deputy secretary of the Changchun city government, also vice head of the emergency management office, has pledged all-out rescue efforts to minimize the casualties.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, a firefighter had a break for dinner. Bathed in sweat and mud, the man said they had made several searches that day, "but it was far from smooth going."

Going by the latest numbers, released on Monday afternoon, searchers have found 119 bodies and only two survivors, who have both been taken to local hospitals. But one of them died on the way to hospital.

Behind the firefighter stood the remnants of the burnt plant, with much of its sooty frames and bent steelwork still standing.

Rescuers have been working with five Labrador sniffer dogs. As of 9 p.m. on Monday, the dogs have helped to find the remains of over 30 bodies in the debris.

"They search for the victims by sensing people's odor and blood," explained a rescuer.

Armed police guard the iron gate and are restricting entry. Ambulances have been seen shuttling in and out from the plant.

The outdoor temperature in the small city of Dehui is around 15 degrees Celsius. Relatives of workers at the plant and journalists from home and abroad are waiting anxiously outside the gate.

Local environmental authorities have begun monitoring the environmental impact of the fire.

"Monitoring data shows the density of ammonia and volatile organic compounds near the plant area are both within normal standards," said a staffer with the Changchun Environmental Monitoring Center.

"We have been ordered to stay here on call round the clock," added the worker, who received the order at 00:30 a.m. on Tuesday to conduct tests inside the plant.

A journalist who entered the plant area at 9 p.m. on Monday told Xinhua that he smelt a penetrating odor and felt uncomfortable even before entering the collapsed workshop.

A female survivor surnamed Chen said, "I heard two huge bangs when the blast occurred, and dark smoke ripped through the material workshop."

Chen witnessed several workers fall into a pool of water inside the workshop while she struggled to escape.

"But I was so scared at the time that I had no way to help them. All I could do was to run," she recalled.

A 36-year-old male worker surnamed Liu told Xinhua that this is not the first fire to hit the poultry workshop. Three years ago, a less serious fire occurred within the building, which featured only a few windows and gates.

As of Tuesday morning, the rescue operation is still under way.