Shuangmiaozi township -- Tieling -- China
Fireworks factory death toll mounts

A story broke last night about an explosion in a fireworks factory in Liaoning Province, in China's northeast. Initial reports stated that 29 died, but this morning the figure has been upgraded to 35. The fireworks industry has a poor safety record, with "the latest statistics show[ing] that a total of 209 Chinese were killed in blasts at fireworks plants in the first nine months of this year, up 24 per cent from the same period last year."

A huge blast ripped through a north-eastern Chinese fireworks factory yesterday, killing at least 35 workers and putting 19 others in hospital, local officials and state press reported.

The explosion tore through two factory buildings at Changtu Safe Environment Colour and Noise in Shuangmiaozi township, Liaoning province, a Changtu official said.

The blast occurred mid-morning as workers were producing fireworks for the year-end celebrations today and for the annual Chinese New Year holiday only weeks away.

'Rescue operations and clean up work are still going on,' a county official said.

Chinese press reports had differing death tolls, but the official State Bureau of Work Safety reported 35 dead at mid-afternoon.

The two factories, covering some 300 sq m, were flattened by the explosion. A four-storey office building was badly damaged along with other buildings nearby, Xinhua news agency said.

 

Tieling -- China
Fireworks blast kills 38

2004 -- Death toll in the blast that ripped through a fireworks factory in Tieling, Northeast China's Liaoning Province has risen to 38, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The scene of the tragic explosion at a fireworks factory in Tieling, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003, which killed 35 people, injured several others and totally destroyed the plant.

The powerful explosion, which took place at a fireworks factory in Shuangmiaozi, a town located in the city of Tieling, also left several people hospitalized.

The accident happened at about 10 am Tuesday, completely destroying the factory.     "Houses about 100 metres from the factory were damaged by fires caused by the explosion," the Xinhua News Agency quoted a local witness as saying.

Deputy Director of the State Administration for Safe Production Supervision Wang Xuede headed a team of officials and experts to the scene of the accident, and joined the local public security bureau and supervision department for a further investigation.

"The real cause of the explosion remains unknown," said a local police officer.     Initial investigations indicated that the factory has no fireworks production license.

The blast occurred less than one month before the Spring Festival, which starts on January 22, when many people in China will celebrate the festival by setting off firecrackers, though some big cities like Beijing and Shanghai have banned firecrackers for many years.

China has witnessed increasing numbers of firework-related accidents this year.

 

36 die in fireworks factory

-- The death toll in an explosion at a fireworks factory in China's northeast has risen by seven to 36.

The official Xinhua News Agency said a businessman who set up the factory in the city of Tieling was ordered arrested.

The factory had been operating for just three days when the explosion yesterday tore apart its two workshops.

The cause was under investigation.

Police ordered the arrest of the man, who set up the factory in August and lacked a production safety licence, Xinhua said. It did not say whether the man owned the factory.

 

36 dead in China fireworks factory blast

-- A huge blast ripped through a northeastern Chinese fireworks factory killing at least 36 workers and injuring 44 others in hospital, local officials and state press reported.

The explosion tore through two factory buildings of Changtu Safe Environment Color and Noise Co Ltd in Shuangmiaozi township, Liaoning province, a Changtu county official told AFP.

The blast occurred mid-morning as workers were producing fireworks for year-end celebrations on Wednesday and for the annual Lunar New Year holiday only weeks away.

"Rescue operations and clean up work is still going on," an official surnamed Xie at the Changtu county government told AFP.

"Our county leaders are there directing operations."

Chinese press reports had differing death tolls, but the official State Bureau of Work Safety reported 35 dead as of mid-afternoon. Xinhua news agency said the toll was 36 as of Tuesday night as an investigation team sent by the State Council, the central government, arrived at the scene.

Xinhua said 18 of the 44 injured were in serious condition.

The two factories, covering some 300 square meters (3,228 square feet), were flattened by the explosion. A four-storey office building was badly damaged along with other buildings nearby, Xinhua said.

Flames engulfed the site after the blast

Provincial-level police officials were investigating the cause of the disaster, it said.

Provincial Governor Bo Xilai was en route to the blast site, which is located in Tieling prefecture, other reports said.

The county official said the factory was privately owned but had all the necessary licenses to operate.

Some 13 injured had been taken to the Changtu county hospital with at least five listed in serious condition while others were only lightly injured, an official at the hospital named Li said.

China is the world's biggest producer of firecrackers and fireworks, with people in rural areas often illegally making them in their homes under unsafe conditions.

Chinese authorities have repeatedly vowed to crack down on illegal and hazardous fireworks factories, but accidents continue to happen.

The latest statistics show a total of 209 Chinese were killed in blasts at fireworks plants in the first nine months of 2003, up 24 percent from the same period last year.

One of the worst recent accidents saw at least 42 children die in March 2001 in an explosion at a village school in Jiangxi province which had forced students to make firecrackers.

Following that disaster and another major accident in a fireworks factory in Jiangxi, authorities tried to shut down the entire fireworks manufacturing industry but backed down after local residents protested.

 

Liaoning
Fireworks blast traced to faulty electrics

The substandard equipment was installed in a workshop, where explosion-proof electric devices are required. The explosion demolished the whole factory, which had been opened only three days before near Tieling City. Thirty-eight people, all workers at the factory, were confirmed dead in the accident, and 33 were injured, of whom 16 were hospitalized.

The legal representative of the fireworks factory, has been arrested.