Twelve workers were killed at a steel plant in eastern China when molten iron spilled from a furnace, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Workers were trying to shut down the plant in Nanjing when the accident occurred on Wednesday, Xinhua reported, citing an official at the city's Municipal Safety Bureau who said an investigation had been launched.

The report gave no further details of the accident and calls to the Nanjing authorities went unanswered.

China has a dismal industrial safety record and the latest accident comes weeks after three people were killed at an explosion at a chemical plant, also in the east of the country.

The latest incident revived memories of a disaster in northeast China in 2007, when 26 tonnes of molten steel engulfed 32 workers gathered in a meeting room as they prepared for their shift. None survived.

China's demand for steel is among the highest in the world, with the country seeking to feed a boom in the construction of housing and infrastructure, such as roads and railways.