Chinese media reported on June 17 that a serious explosion occurred at a Shanzhou fireworks factory near Changdang City, Hunan Province, Central China. The blast killed at least nine people and injured 26.
The scene of the explosion was in a mountainous area with a large lack of water, causing significant difficulties in rescue and fire fighting. The authorities had to use a remote controlledignature to control the fire, operating continuously for more than 20 hours. However, the situation is still described as "complex" with the risk of new explosions, significantly hampering rescue efforts.
Immediately after the incident, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management sent a working group to Hunan province to directly monitor and direct the rescue work. The ministry also requested the early determination of the cause of the explosion and the prosecution of responsible parties.
This explosion took place just one month after an accident at a chemical plant in Son Dong province that killed at least 5 people. Meanwhile, the most serious industrial disaster in the past decade in China was a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin in 2015, killing more than 170 people and injuring 700 others.
China has a large-scale fireworks industry, supplying the majority of fireworks globally, but labor safety at production facilities is still a controversial issue. serious incidents such as explosions in Hunan continue to pose an urgent need to strengthen supervision, raise safety standards and improve risk handling mechanisms at chemical and fireworks factories across the country.
