Ammonia leak suspected for blaze

More than 500 workers were working in the factory when the accident happened.

The aftermath of the deadliest blaze the country's seen in more than a decade.

This is what the inside of the poultry plant looked like before... now it's all been reduced to ash.

Up to 350 workers were in the plant when the fire broke out. Fewer than 100 managed to escape, suggesting that the death toll could rise further.

So far authorities haven't given a final account of what sparked the accident.

But preliminary findings suggest the fire may have been started by an explosion resulting from a buildup of ammonia, a flammable and toxic refrigerant.

The State Council has sent a panel to the scene to thoroughly investigate the cause, but so far, more questions are being raised than answered... including reports that many workers inside the plant found it hard to get out.

According to a layout of the plant described by employees, there are a total of six main doors in and out of the plant. Doors 1 and 2 are used by workers to enter and exit the plant but are usually locked during work hours. So is door 6, the exit for the plant's cold storage. This leaves just 3 doors open for an emergency escape, apparently far too few for a tragedy like the one that struck Monday.

Employee, Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company, said, "We had all the fire safety equipment. But we couldn't see or do anything because of the thick smoke."

"I knew the best escape would be from the cold storage area. So I ran out from there." Employee said.

Even after firefighters extinguished the blaze, rescuers found it hard to enter the slaughterhouse to search for survivors because of its "complicated interior structure and narrow exits."

Accounts of the difficulty of exiting the building, have revived concerns about safety of working environments across China.