THE usually quiet town of Kuiyong, situated mid-way between Shenzhen city and Daya Bay, was over-run with Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers yesterday as investigations began into the deaths of 81 workers in the Zhili toy factory fire.
The officers cordoned off the area around the factory and the main road, and stationed themselves outside hospital wards.
Debris, burnt cloth and rags were scattered everywhere, and the factory and neighbouring hostel were still wet from more than four hours of fire-fighting.
Inside the factory, one of the staircases had collapsed and the gates, which were forced open by rescue workers, were hanging off their hinges.
Families of the dead started the grim task of identifying the bodies at the Shenzhen Funeral Parlour yesterday.
The officer in charge of the morgue, Liu Chunhua, said it could take up to 10 days to identify the bodies, as most of the dead were from out of town.