The fire broke out at 0:50 am in a cooked food processing workshop at Qingdao Zhengda Co in Longquan Town of Jimo, a county-level city under Qingdao.

Twenty-one staff were in the workshop when the accident happened, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

Witnesses said the building's steel structure collapsed in the blaze, blocking workers' escape routes.

Firefighters rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised at 0:51 am and extinguished the fire by 3:30 am, according to the Firefighting Bureau of Qingdao.

Rescuers discovered 12 bodies when they first searched the scene, the other nine missing people were confirmed dead later in the day.

Provincial and municipal leaders have visited the site to direct the rescue effort and investigations into the fire. The cause of the blaze is still unknown.

The country's work safety administration yesterday urged local authorities to make every effort to recover the missing workers and thoroughly inspect work places to reduce the number of industrial accidents.

More than 100 lives were lost in accidents in the last 10 days of March. The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued an emergency notice, calling on leaders at various levels to recognize the importance of industrial safety and adopt a responsible attitude towards work to help prevent fatal accidents.

The notice lists coal mines, communications and transport facilities and crowded venues as priorities for safety inspections. A recent coal mine accident in Shanxi has claimed 72 lives.

(China Daily April 7, 2003)