Six people were confirmed dead and six others injured in a shoe workshop fire in south China's Guangdong Province early Friday, Xinhua quoted the local government as saying. The fire broke out at 3:00 a.m. in the shoe workshop in Huangbu Town, Huidong County when 13 workers were sleeping in the four-story building. The blaze was put out at 5:46 a.m.. The blaze spread over 200 square meters of floor space. Initial investigation showed that the building was used as workshop, dormitory and staff canteen at the same time, violating safety rules. Local workplace safety department had asked the workshop boss to move the workers out of the building in April. However, the boss moved the workers back into the building in recent weeks. Thirteen workers were sleeping in their dormitory on the top floor when the fire broke out. It was hard for firefighters to rescue them because the boss had locked the passageway to the roof. The six injured were out of life threatening danger.
