Six women workers and a man are dead and one person was slightly injured in a fire at a private clothing factory in Shantou, a special economic zone in Guangdong Province, on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 3:00 a.m. in Chaonan District when 11 workers were sleeping in the dormitory of the factory, said police.

The factory was a five-storey building, with each storey covering a floor area of 100 square meters. The ground floor was a material store, the second and fourth floors were the workshop, and the third floor was the building owner's apartment and the top floor an employee dormitory.

Firemen rescued 11 from the building. Seven died in hospital after medical treatment failed. Another woman with slight injuries was reported to be in a stable condition.

The fire was put out at 3:30 a.m. and police are investigating the cause.

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2008)