16 die in fire as staff ordered to save equipment

Managers at a Shenzhen factory where at least 16 people died in a fire ordered workers to save equipment as a blaze spread, it emerged yesterday.

The fire, which destroyed the Zhimao Electronics Plant in the Bao'an District on Saturday, also left eight people badly injured.

Xinhua said 58 workers were rescued from the top floor by firefighters who took about an hour to put out the blaze.

The semi-official China News Service said managers of the factory - which was Taiwanese-owned and made electric fans - ordered workers to 'save materials' when the fire broke out and made little effort to rescue workers trapped upstairs.

'As the fire raged upstairs, the smoke got too thick, leading to the deaths of 16 workers who were unable to escape,' the agency said.

The report said Guangdong Governor Lu Ruihua had ordered an investigation.