The explosion occurred after 4.40 p.m. local time (10.40 a.m. Polish time) on Monday at the Huasheng plant in the city of Liuyang in central China, Chinese state media reported. About 500 rescuers worked at the site of the explosionand teams marked a three-kilometer safety zone from which they evacuated local residents.
Robots in rescue operation
The rescue operation was hampered by the risk of further explosions. For this reason, the services were supported by remotely controlled robots. Witnesses quoted by the Beijing daily “Xinjing Bao” described huge detonation force – windows in nearby buildings cracked and fell outand the window frames were seriously damaged.
One resident reported that the shock wave lifted stones into the air. The scale of the tragedy quickly reached the highest levels of government.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered a search operation, quick determination of the causes of the accident and severe punishment of the perpetrators. Prime Minister Li Qiang, in turn, appealed for the implementation of measures to prevent further disasters of this type.
A series of explosions in pyrotechnic factories
Liuyang is located in Hunan Province, which is the main production center for Chinese fireworks exported abroadincluding for the United States market. Accidents involving pyrotechnics are relatively common in this country.
Last June An explosion at a fireworks factory near the city of Changde killed nine people and injured 26 others. In February this year at least eight people died, and two were injured in an explosion and fire at a pyrotechnics store in eastern China's Jiangsu province.
The official causes of the tragedy are not yet known – the authorities will present the results of the investigation in the coming weeks and have announced safety inspections in the entire pyrotechnic sector.
