Seven people were killed and another nine injured in a fire in a factory dormitory in south China's Guangdong Province in the morning of March 14.

All the nine injured are now receiving treatment in hospital. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

About 4:23 a.m. March 14, fire broke out in a storehouse of an illegal leather product factory in Shiling Town of Guangzhou City. In the storehouse contained a car and some 500 leather cases. The fire then spread to the neighboring dormitory where 43 workers were sleeping, blocking the door. Seven people were killed while others ran out. All the victims are male, with ages ranging from 17 to 26 years old, according to the local government.

(Xinhua News  Agency  March 16, 2004)