A fire at a poultry processing plant in China has killed at least 112 people, officials say, according to BBC News.

The fire broke out at a slaughterhouse in Dehui in Jilin province early on Monday, June 3 according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

The fire is now said to have been mostly put out and bodies are being recovered. There are reports that the fire took hold following three explosions in an electrical system.

It is China's most deadly fire since 2000, when 309 people died in a fire in a dance hall in Luoyang, Henan province.

About 100 workers had managed to escape from the Baoyuan plant, Xinhua said, adding that the "complicated interior structure" of the building and narrow exits had made rescue work more difficult. It said the plant's front gate had been locked when the blaze began.

The number of workers trapped inside the plant had yet to be confirmed, the agency added.

Dozens of injured have been sent to hospital, but the severity of their injuries remains unclear.

Photographs posted on Chinese news websites showed thick smoke coming from the large cement and corrugated iron sheds, with fire engines still at the scene.