Three workers died after a fire in a Taiwan-funded company in Shenzhen Thursday, authorities said on Friday.

The fire broke out at 4:00 p.m. in a three-storey plastic factory in Shenzhen of south China's Guangdong Province, and about 40 staff escaped, an official said.

The fire was put out at 6:00 p.m. but the building was burnt out, and three workers were missing. Their bodies were found at midnight Thursday, the official said. Further investigation is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2008)