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Jiangmen -- China -- An explosion at a fireworks factory in China has killed at least 29 people, and injured around 200 more. The blast in the southern city of Jiangmen levelled a two-storey building covering an area of 3,000 square metres, reports said. Rescue workers have been trying to find people trapped in the rubble.
-- The explosion at the Hong Kong-funded Tuqu factory happened at around 0800 (0000 GMT) on Friday. Witnesses say they saw a large mushroom cloud after the blast. All those killed are believed to be factory workers. The blast is not thought to have killed anyone outside the factory, which was located in a sparsely populated suburb. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Jiangmen is in Guangdong province, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Macau.
Hundreds of fireworks factories in southern China have been ordered to shut down for safety checks following a huge explosion at a plant on Friday. At least 36 people are now known to have died in the blast, which injured 160 people; 30 others are still missing. The explosion is the latest in a string of accidents at the plant, which is situated in the southern province of Guangdong, and in the province as a whole. Fatal fireworks explosions in China are common, particularly around the Chinese New Year in January or February. The Guangdong authorities said that lighter and match factories must close as well as the 400 or so fireworks factories situated in the province. Plants that passed a safety inspection would be allowed to re-open, except for those in densely populated areas which would be closed permanently, an official said. The Tuqu factory where the explosion occurred, in the city of Jiangmen near the former Portuguese colony of Macau, had been ordered in April to improve its safety systems, but ignored the order. The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, said that investigators believe that sparks made by workers pounding iron nails may have caused the fatal blast. It levelled the two-storey building, which covered an area of 3,000 square metres. Xinhua said it "shattered the roofs, windows and walls of buildings 1km away" and "trees and utility poles were uprooted or snapped in half". All those killed are believed to be factory workers. The factory, which was located in a sparsely populated suburb, was run by a Hong Kong firm. In March, an explosion at a fireworks factory in the eastern province of Jiangxi killed 33 people.
Jiangmen Six people responsible for a fireworks factory explosion that killed 40 people in Jiangmen City of south China's Guangdong Province in June last year, were given imprisonment terms ranging from three to five years Wednesday. The Intermediate People's Court of Jiangmen handed down five years' imprisonment to an employee with the factory, the manager and the deputy manager. Another three employees of the factory were also imprisoned. The explosion was found to be ignited by sparks produced by pounding iron nails inside the warehouse building used to stockpile fireworks and explosive materials. While 40 were killed in the blasts, over 130 people were injured, 45 of whom were disabled. Some 1,700 residential houses and 66 factories and mines near the site were damaged with property losses totaling over 2.5 million yuan worth.
Six jailed over fireworks factory explosion that killed 40 people -- Six people have been jailed over a fireworks factory explosion that killed 40 people in China. A further 45 people were maimed by the blast. The factory manager and three assistant managers were sentenced to prison terms of three to five years for criminal negligence and safety regulation violations. A former public security officer, was
jailed for three years for dereliction of duty. He agreed to the factory's
plans to build four workshops alongside storerooms containing hazardous
materials. A worker was found guilty of triggering the explosion while using a
nail gun. He was sentenced to five years in prison. |
