Explosion at Huasheng Fireworks plant in Liuyang China, kills 26
At least 26 people are dead and 61 others injured after a powerful explosion tore through a fireworks manufacturing plant in Liuyang, a city in China’s Hunan province widely regarded as the world’s largest producer of fireworks.
The blast struck the Huasheng Fireworks plant on Monday afternoon, triggering a large-scale emergency response and forcing authorities to clear all residents within a 3-kilometre radius of the facility. More than 1,500 rescue personnel were deployed to the scene, supported by sniffer dogs, drones and robots. Seven individuals were pulled alive from beneath the rubble.
The scale of destruction was immediately apparent. A reporter broadcasting live from the scene for CCTV noted that windows of a nearby residential building had been blown out by the force of the explosion. One resident, who lives roughly a kilometre from the factory, described the damage to her home when speaking to Beijing News.
“The glass windows in our homes were shattered, aluminum window frames were deformed, and even the stainless-steel doors were twisted out of shape,” she said.
Stones hurled by the blast landed on surrounding roads, forcing villagers to take detours. Another local resident told the same outlet that she had fled the area entirely out of fear.
Among the 61 wounded, ages ranged from the twenties to the sixties, with several victims sustaining bone injuries from flying debris, according to CCTV. Rescue teams also took precautionary steps to prevent follow-on incidents, including humidifying the surrounding area, a measure aimed at reducing explosion risk during the operation. State media reported that two gunpowder warehouses within the factory compound had presented a significant hazard throughout the rescue effort.
Authorities have since taken “control measures” against staff responsible for managing the plant, as police open an investigation into what caused the blast. President Xi Jinping weighed in on the disaster, urging maximum effort in the search for any remaining missing persons and calling for a full investigation to ensure those at fault are held to account.
Environmental monitoring in the surrounding area was subsequently activated, with local authorities confirming on Tuesday that water and air quality readings had returned normal indicators.
The tragedy adds to a grim pattern. Explosions at fireworks facilities are a recurring hazard in China, as recently as February, twelve people lost their lives in a blast at a fireworks store in Hubei province. That Liuyang, the country’s fireworks heartland, is now the site of one of the deadliest such incidents in recent memory will likely intensify scrutiny of safety standards across the industry.
Source: BBC
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