Although receiving no serious injuries, Pan seemed frightened and said she could not clearly remember what happened and how she escaped.

A woman who escaped the fire prays for her colleagues. Provided to China Daily

When two China Daily reporters arrived near the scene at about 2 pm, the road linking the factory had been blocked. A pungent odor could be smelled 400 meters away.

The factory had been cordoned off and there were policemen everywhere. Firefighters in uniform carrying fire extinguishers could be seen moving among the rubble.

Only the steel framework of the workshop was left.

A doctor at Fuyang Hospital said it had received more than 20 survivors.

"Now 20 are staying in the hospital and they are in stable condition," said the doctor, surnamed Chen. "Some others in more serious condition have been sent to Changchun city."

The patients in the hospital mainly suffered burns and respiratory system injuries, and there was sickness and dizziness signifying gas poisoning, he said.

On Monday afternoon, relatives of the injured were at the hospital, most of them calm.

"I arrived immediately after my husband contacted me," a woman said. "I was relieved that he suffered only a light injury. And I heard the government has promised to provide help to us."

Pang Meihe, a 20-year-old worker at Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co, said he escaped quickly as he was very familiar with the route.

"After I was outside I tried to rescue those inside but the fire was so intense and it was impossible to go inside again," he said.

Pang, who suffered slight bruises on his arm, was staying at Changchun Central Hospital in Changchun, Jilin province.

He said his aunt and his sister work in the factory, but he had only managed to contact his aunt.