A ladle of molten metal spilt its load at a Chinese steelworks on Wednesday and may have killed 20 people, Xinhua news agency said.

The accident happened a plant of the Qinghe Special Steel Co. Ltd. in Tieling, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, Xinhua said in a brief report.

"Two bodies have been found so far and the other workers are unlikely to have survived," Xinhua said, quoting local work safety authorities.