Death Toll Hits 120 in Deadly China Fire

Authorities have raised the death toll by one to 120 in this week’s disastrous fire at a northeast China poultry processing plant.

The State Administration of Work Safety said Wednesday that 17 of the 395 people at work during Monday’s tragedy remain unaccounted for.

State media reports say about 90 percent of the victims were women recruited from nearby farming villages to work part time at the sprawling Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. plant.

Workers said all but one of the plant’s exits were locked at the time of the fire, in clear violation of Chinese laws and safety regulations. Authorities have detained the plant’s owner and managers and a special commission appointed by China’s Cabinet is investigating the fire, the country’s worst industrial accident in almost five years.