A blast at a fireworks factory in the Hunan province of China killed 21 people, leaving 61 injured. Reports by the state media, Xinhua and CCTV footages suggest that the explosion took place at Liuyang in Hunan, a hub for manufacturing fireworks, on Monday evening around 4:40 p.m (0840 GMT). President Xi Jinping has called for a thorough investigation of the incident.
Footage of a large amount of smoke rising up into the skies was shared around social media on Monday, with Reuters confirming the location shown in the video as Changsha.
A video released by Xinhua showed clouds of smoke rising from a large site surrounded by debris from destroyed buildings.
According to the outlet, five rescue teams with around 500 members, along with three rescue robots, were deployed to the site to conduct gridstyle searches in a “human-machine coordinated approach”.
Xinhua’s report revealed that two black powder storage warehouses within the factory compound had posed high-risk hazards. Authorities evacuated residents from danger zones, and established a 1 km rescue area and a 3 km control zone.
The blast occured at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company, according to the state media.
China Daily reported that the person in charge of the company had been detained while the cause of the accident was being probed.
According to Xinhua, President Xi Jinping called for prompt investigation to determine the cause of the incident and ensure strict accountability. He also ordered authorities to tighten risk screening and hazard control in key industries, enhance public safety, and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property.
Xi is known to issue instructions to local authorities after major accidents and disasters. He had urged a nationwide upgrade in China’s disaster response capacity last week. He had also issed instructions after a fire hit residential towers in Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong in November, which killed 168 people.
According to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, China’s exports of fireworks in the past year amounted to $1.14 billion, making up more than two-thirds of global sales.
