Fire raged through a poultry plant in northeastern China on Monday, trapping workers inside a cluttered slaughterhouse and killing at least 119 people, reports and officials said. 
 
 Firefighters and medical staff prepare to remove body bags that appears to contain the bodies of those killed by a fire at a poultry processing plant in northeast China's Jilin province's Mishazi township... (Associated Press) 
 
 A water canon hoses down the roof of a poultry processing plant after a major fire which appeared to have been sparked by three early-morning explosions in northeast China's Jilin province's Mishazi township... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, smoke rises from a poultry farm at the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Mishazi township of Dehui City, northeast China's Jilin Province Monday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Residents look on as rescue efforts continue near a poultry processing plant that was engulfed by a fire in northeast China's Jilin province's Mishazi township on Monday, June 3, 2013. The massive fire... (Associated Press) 
 
 Medical staff wait near a poultry processing plant that was engulfed by a fire in northeast China's Jilin province's Mishazi township on Monday, June 3, 2013. The massive fire broke out at the poultry... (Associated Press) 
 
 Several dozen people also were hurt in the blaze in Jilin province's Mishazi township, which appeared to have been sparked by three early morning explosions, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The provincial fire department, on its microblog, attributed the blasts to a leak of ammonia, a gas that is kept pressurized as part of the cooling system in meat processing plants. 
 
 State broadcaster CCTV quoted unidentified workers as saying the fire broke out during a change of shifts and may have originated in a locker room at a time when about 350 workers were at the plant, owned by Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. 
 
 It wasn't clear how many workers had been accounted for and a provincial government media official, who refused to give his name, said he expected the death toll to rise further as more bodies were recovered from the charred building. 
 
 The plant's `'complicated" interior, narrow exits and a locked front gate made escape difficult, Xinhua quoted survivors as saying. 
 
 Some employees raised the alarm shortly after a shift began at 6 a.m., and then the lights went out, boosting the level of panic as workers rushed to find an exit, employee Wang Fengya told Xinhua. 
 
 "When I finally ran out and looked back at the plant, I saw high flames," Wang, 44, was quoted as saying. Xinhua said she and three other workers were sent to a hospital in the nearby provincial capital of Changchun. 
 
 Another worker quoted by Xinhua, 39-year-old Guo Yan, said the emergency exit at her workstation was blocked and she was knocked to the ground in the crush of workers seeking to escape through a side door. 
 
 "I could only crawl desperately forward," Guo was quoted as saying. "I worked alongside an old lady and a young girl, but I don't know if they survived or not." 
 
 The disaster killed 119 people, and 54 people were being treated in hospitals, the provincial government said on its microblog. Calls to fire and rescue services rang unanswered and hospital administrators said they had no information about the injured. 
 
 By about noon, the fire had been mostly extinguished by about 500 firefighters and bodies were being recovered from the charred buildings. CCTV footage showed dark smoke billowing up from the prefabricated cement structures topped with corrugated iron roofs. 
 
 The fire highlighted the lax safety standards at many Chinese workplaces, despite efforts to compel improvements through regular inspections and fines. 
 
 It could also focus renewed scrutiny on China's biggest pork producer, Shuanghui International _ unrelated to the poultry plant _ as it aims to buy U.S. food giant Smithfield in what would be China's biggest takeover of an American company. 
 
 The poultry plant is one of several in the area where chickens are slaughtered and then quickly cut up into pieces and shipped to market. The entire process takes place in near-freezing conditions and such plants are usually built with large amounts of flammable foam insulation to maintain a constant temperature. 
 
 Jason Yan, technical director in Beijing of the U.S. Grains Council, said safety considerations usually take a backseat in China to features designed to maximize production and energy efficiency. 
 
 "I'm sure they consider some aspects of safety design. However, I think safety, to me, is not the first priority in their design plan," Yan said. 
 
 Jilin Baoyuanfeng produces 67,000 tons of processed chicken per year and employs about 1,200 people. The plant is located outside the city of Dehui, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of China's capital, Beijing. 
 
 Established in 2009, the company serves markets in 20 cities nationwide and has won numerous awards for its contribution to the local economy, according to introductions posted online. 
 
 The area where the fire occurred is an agribusiness center, especially for poultry. Nearby is one of the biggest producers of broiler chickens in China, Jilin Deda Co., which is partly owned by Thailand-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. 
 
 Monday's fire hit a company that is much smaller than Jilin Deda. Though it's unlikely to have an impact on China's chicken supply, the accident came as chicken producers were seeing sales recover after an outbreak of a deadly new strain of bird flu, H7N9, briefly scared the public in April and early May. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Gillian Wong contributed to this report. ||||| A woman cries as waiting for information after a fire occurred in a slaughterhouse owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Mishazi Township of Dehui City, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 3, 2013. (Xinhua/Xu Chang) 
 
 CHANGCHUN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A fire engulfed a slaughterhouse in northeast China's Jilin Province on Monday, leaving at least 113 people dead and 54 others injured. 
 
 The fire broke out at 6:06 a.m. in the slaughterhouse owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Mishazi Township of Dehui City, about 100 km northeast of the provincial capital Changchun. 
 
 Over 300 workers were in the plant when the fire began, survivors told Xinhua, adding they heard a sudden bang and then witnessed dark smoke. 
 
 About 100 workers have managed to escape from the plant, the gate of which was locked when the fire broke out, they added. 
 
 "I started working at 6 a.m. along with another 100 workers in my workshop. There were two workshops in the plant," said Wang Fengya, a 44-year-old female worker who was burnt in escaping. 
 
 "Soon after, someone shouted 'run away!' and we quickly ran to the exit, which is about 40 meters away from my seat. Suddenly, the lights inside went out and the plant got quite dark," said Wang, adding that her legs felt like jelly as she fled. 
 
 Wang said she fell down and hurt herself in escaping. "When I finally ran out and looked back at the plant, I saw high flames," she added. 
 
 Wang and another three workers were sent to the Changchun Central Hospital with light injuries. 
 
 Slaughterhouse worker Guo Yan stood outside the police cordon encirling the burned-down factory, waiting for a relative and co-worker trapped in the plant. 
 
 Guo, earning about 2,000 yuan (326 U.S. dollars) a month, worked long hours to finance her daughter's schooling. 
 
 The complicated interior structure of the prefabricated plant in which the fire broke out and the narrow exits have added difficulties to the rescue work, sources with rescue forces said. 
 
 The building's steel frame and dense smoke were seen at the scene after the fire was put out at noon. 
 
 The environmental watchdog has begun monitoring the environmental impact of the fire. 
 
 People living nearby said they could smell a pungent odor and some suffered headaches. 
 
 Some victims' families have arrived at the scene and demanded the government investigate and announce the cause of the accident as soon as possible. 
 
 Established in September 2009, Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company has 1,200 employees and an annual output amounting to 67,000 tonnes of chicken products.
– At least 119 workers were killed and dozens more injured when fire swept through a poultry plant in northeast China early today, trapping workers inside a slaughterhouse, the AP reports. Surviving workers say the gate was locked when the fire broke out. A loud bang was heard before the fire and the surrounding area has been evacuated because of the risk of ammonia leakage. Firefighters took six hours to bring the blaze, which destroyed much of the facility, under control. "I started working at 6am along with another 100 workers in my workshop. There were two workshops in the plant," a woman who suffered burns while escaping the inferno tells Xinhua. "Soon after, someone shouted 'run away!' and we quickly ran to the exit," she says. "Suddenly, the lights inside went out and the plant got quite dark."