Fire at Chinese Leather Factory Kills 15, Injures a Dozen

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- A blaze at a leather factory in southeastern China killed 15 people and seriously injured 12, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

The fire at Wenzhou Glory Leather Products Co. in the city of Pingyang, about 540 kilometers (340 miles) south of Shanghai, broke out Wednesday evening and was extinguished after about three hours, the report said.

Firefighters originally thought the fire had killed only one person and injured two others. But a search through the factory's debris uncovered 14 more bodies, Xinhua said.

All 12 of the injured were hospitalized, it said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.