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A blast at the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, killed 21 people and injured 61 on Monday afternoon. President Xi Jinping ordered a thorough investigation and strict accountability. Rescue efforts involved nearly 500 personnel and measures to prevent secondary hazards.
rte.ieAn explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan province, killed 21 people and injured 61 others, according to Chinese state media reports cited across multiple outlets. The blast occurred in a workshop at the plant on Tuesday morning local time.
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Rescue operations involved nearly 500 firefighters, rescuers and medical personnel, who deployed three robots to assist in search-and-rescue efforts at the site.
Authorities evacuated residents within a 3-kilometer radius due to risks from two black powder warehouses at the factory. Rescuers sprayed and humidified the area to mitigate potential hazards and prevent secondary accidents. The injured, ranging in age from their 20s to 60s, included some with bone injuries from flying debris, a CCTV report said.
Videos from the scene showed thick smoke, collapsed buildings and debris scattered across the area. A CCTV reporter observed that windows of a nearby residential building were shattered.
One resident living about 1 kilometer away told Beijing News that stones were blasted onto the road, forcing villagers to take detours. The resident described glass windows in homes being shattered, aluminum window frames deformed and stainless-steel doors twisted out of shape.
Aerial footage from CCTV showed white smoke still rising from damaged facilities the following day, with debris strewn around. The explosion's impact reached neighboring villages, where residents reported broken doors and windows, and some left the area.
President Xi Jinping instructed authorities to carry out a thorough investigation, impose strict accountability, save the injured and search for anyone unaccounted for. He also directed strengthened risk screening and hazard control in key industries to enhance public safety and protect lives and property, according to Xinhua.
Authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion and took control measures against those in charge of the company, including the person responsible for the fireworks firm. Police implemented unspecified control measures against company officials.
Liuyang is a major fireworks production center that sustained tens of thousands of jobs and exported fireworks worth $1.4 billion last year, accounting for more than two-thirds of global sales according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity cited in a 2023 Xinhua report.
The industry has seen prior incidents, including a 2019 explosion at another Liuyang fireworks factory that killed 13 people and a February blast at a fireworks store in Hubei province that killed 12. China reported over 18,000 workplace accident deaths last year, a 7 percent decline from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
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