By Deutsche Welle
A gigantic explosion at a fireworks factory in central China It caused the death of at least 26 people and left 61 injuredthe state press reported this Tuesday.
The explosion occurred around 4:43 p.m. (08:43 GMT) on Monday at the Liuyang Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Insist their own praises Company, in Liuyang, Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Videos spread on social networks showed continuous explosions accompanied by a huge cloud of smoke rising into the air in a rural area surrounded by mountains.
Images taken by a CCTV drone a day later reveal a strip of charred rubble where buildings once stood, as rescue teams and excavators removed them.
Smoke continued to rise from some buildings that were still standing.many of them with their roofs torn off.
The central government sent experts to lead rescue efforts, while more than 480 rescuers were urgently sent to the scene to carry out search operations, CCTV reported.
They investigate the accident
A 3-kilometer buffer zone was also established around the site and nearby people were evacuated.
Police detained company managers while investigations continue about the cause of the accident, CCTV said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “unrelenting efforts” to care for the injured and search for missing people, as well as for those responsible to be held accountable, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
Liuyang is a major pyrotechnics center, producing around 60% of the fireworks sold in China and 70% of those exported.
Industrial accidents are common in China due to lax safety regulations.
Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people.
In February, separate explosions at fireworks stores in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces killed 12 and eight people, respectively.
