Explosion at fireworks factory in China kills 26, injures 61

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an investigation after an explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in central China and its surrounding area, killing at least 26 people and injuring 61.

Xi’s order on Tuesday came a day after the explosion a the Huasheng fireworks plant in Liuyang, a city of 1.5 million in central Hunan province.

Xi said “those responsible must be held accountable” and “urged all-out efforts to search for people who are still unaccounted for”, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The incident occurred at about 4:40pm local time (08:40 GMT) on Monday.

The local government dispatched 482 emergency personnel to the scene and evacuated the neighbouring area due to the risk of further explosions at the factory’s warehouses, state media reported.

The scale of the incident is still unknown as rescue efforts continued into Tuesday.

The number of missing people is also not known.

A video of the incident shared on social media by People’s Daily showed widespread destruction, with buildings damaged or destroyed across multiple city blocks.

The video caption said public security authorities had “taken measures against the person in charge of the company”, suggesting the individual may already have been arrested.

Xi and Premier Li Qiang have called for a far-reaching evaluation of workplace safety measures in the wake of the incident.

“Authorities across regions and departments must draw profound lessons from the accident and reinforce responsibility for workplace safety,” Xi said, according to Xinhua.

Liuyang produces about 70 percent of China’s fireworks exports, according to China Daily, and accounts for 60 percent of the country’s domestic market.

The last major accident at a fireworks factory in Liuyang was in 2019, when 13 people were killed and 17 injured.

Local authorities initially tried to conceal the extent of the accident and said seven people were killed, but an investigation by Hunan’s provincial government found that the figure was higher, according to Xinhua.