ANKARA

Five people were killed when a fire broke out in a confectionary plant in northwestern Japan, local media said on Saturday.

One person is still missing after the fire in the coastal Niigata prefecture on Friday night, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported state police as saying.

There were dozens of workers in the plant when the fire broke out, said the police.

It took nine hours to bring the blaze under control, they also said. The search for the missing was halted over fears that the building might collapse.

The plant is operated by confectionery maker Sanko Seika Co., which produces a variety of rice crackers among other products.