The incident in Hunan province, managers arrested
A giant explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed at least 21 people and injured 61, state media reported on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred around 4.43pm yesterday local time at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, broadcaster CCTV reported. Videos released on social media on Monday showed continuous explosions accompanied by a huge cloud of smoke rising high into the sky in a rural area surrounded by mountains.
CCTV aerial footage taken the following day shows an expanse of smoking debris where the buildings once stood, with rescuers and excavators busy sifting through the rubble. The central government has sent experts to coordinate the rescue operations, while over 480 rescuers have been urgently sent to the site for search and rescue operations. A 3 kilometer control zone was established around the site and people in the vicinity were evacuated. The police have arrested the company’s managers, while investigations into the causes of the accident continue. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “maximum efforts” to treat the wounded and search for the missing, and for those responsible to be held accountable, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
Liuyang is a major fireworks manufacturing center, producing about 60 percent of those sold in China and 70 percent of those exported. Industrial accidents, including in the fireworks industry, are frequent in China due to inadequate safety regulations. Last year an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023 three people died following explosions that hit residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin. In February, two separate explosions at fireworks shops in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces resulted in 12 and eight deaths respectively.
