Changsha -- China
Fireworks blast in Changsha, 18 injured

A railway carriage with firecrackers exploded in central China's Hunan Province on Thursday, injuring 18 people, local police said on Friday.

The railway carriage exploded at the suburbs of Changsha, the provincial capital at 9:00 p.m. and injured 18 workers who repaired the rails at the site. Two of them were seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital.

The explosion also caused a fire, which was brought under control by the press time.

 

Fireworks blast in Changsha, 20 injured

Fireworks stored in a freight car blast near the railway station of Changsha, capital of Central China' Hunan Province on December 10, 2004. A total of 20 people injured, 2 of them in critical condition. The fire has now brought into control.

Guangdong province -- China
fireworks blast kills 21 -- 25 injured

Last month's explosion in neighbouring Guangdong province At least 21 people have been killed and more than 25 others injured in a massive fireworks explosion in Jiangxi province in southern China.

 

The blast, which tore apart a five-storey apartment building, is the third deadly fireworks explosion in southern China in the last six months.

Officials say the explosion was probably caused by a dropped cigarette, which set off as much as two tonnes of explosives illegally stored in the building by a fireworks manufacturer.

The man had apparently shipped the explosives from northern China, also illegally.    It is not clear yet whether he was among those killed.

In March, 33 people were killed in an explosion at a fireworks factory in the same county.

And only last month authorities in neighbouring Guangdong province ordered all fireworks factories to shut down for safety checks after a massive explosion and fire at a fireworks plant killed at least 36 people and possibly as many as 70.

The coastal provinces of southern China are dotted with thousands of small factories that manufacture volatile products like fireworks and disposable cigarette lighters, many of them for export to the West.

Safety measures are minimal or non-existent and accidents common.

Beijing -- China
Rumors of fireworks display
lead to stampede - 37 dead

2004 -- Rumors of a fireworks display led spectators to a metal bridge in Mihong Park in suburban Beijing's Miyun County and caused last Thursday's stampede that killed 37 people.

This was disclosed by secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Miyun County Committee, at a press conference held Tuesday. Many of the victims were women and children, trampled or crushed to death.

The lantern display opened on Jan. 31 in Mihong Park, attracting about 2,500 tourists each day on average before the accident occurred. On the evening of Feb. 5, China's traditional Lantern Festival, about 4,500 spectators were at the lantern display area and nearly four million tourists were crowded in the park, he said.

Rumors spread that there would be a fireworks show when some residents set off fireworks in some residential areas outside of the park and spectators swarmed to Yunhong Bridge, which was considered a desirable site to observe the park's scenery, witnesses said.

At 7:45 p.m., a spectator tripped on the steep steps of the metal rainbow-shaped bridge and fell, triggering the deadly stampede when people from behind did not stop pushing forward and began to fall on top of one another.

Bodies of the 37 victims have been identified and sent to funeral homes, including 28 females and nine males. Among the dead,14 were students, 15 were peasants, six were teachers, and two were workers and the oldest was 68 and the youngest seven, local government sources said.

Six patients had been discharged from hospital as of Monday. The six included one of the 15 injured who were rushed to hospitalshortly after the accident and five of the 22 who checked themselves in.

Another 20 still in hospital are recovering and are expected tobe discharged soon, and 11 others are staying in hospital for observation, said medical staff.

The county officials had set up 37 task forces to condole the bereaved families, trying their best to help the families and handout pensions from the government, charity organizations and socialdonations, he said.

 

Minhou County -- China
Fireworks explosion kills 3, injures 8

2003 -- An explosion at a fireworks factory in East China's Fujian Province killed three people and injured at least eight others.     The tragedy comes soon after a fatal blast in North China's Hebei Province, which claimed 29 lives.    The Fujian explosion took place at the Fireworks Factory, which is 2 kilometres away from Jingxi Town in Minhou County, from which 10 of those injured have been hospitalized at the county hospital, according to a source.    Several heavily injured people have been sent to hospitals in Fuzhou, the capital of the province, the source said.

The source said the exact number of injured people in the hospital was unclear, as the total number of people working in the factory at the time of the accident has yet to be confirmed.     "There are still injured people being sent here and we have not got a chance to count the number of them," she said in an telephone interview.     Meanwhile, the fireworks factory in Hebei Province, is at risk of suffering from another explosion.

Police have discovered large piles of materials that are prone to ignite and explode while they were cleaning up the ruined fireworks factory in Xinji, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.   The materials, including sulphur, are kept in the factory's raw material storeroom and police warned that if the storeroom exploded, the explosion can be more powerful than the previous one.

Of the 29 people killed by the blast, 15 has been identified by their families or relatives and have been cremated.    All fireworks factories in Hebei Province have been ordered to halt production and remain shut until they pass safety inspections.

Chongqing - China
Bus explosion kills 21

In China, 21 people are reported to have died in an explosion on a long-distance bus.

The explosion, which took place near the south-western city of Chongqing, is thought to have been caused by fireworks being transported on the bus.

Twelve other people were injured.

China has sought to control the availability and transport of explosives and fireworks but has still seen a series of fatal accidents in recent months.

Staff at a hospital treating victims of the explosion told the BBC they believed it was caused by fireworks being transported on the passenger bus in a rural area near Chongqing.

Local media said the force of the blast blew the driver from his cab, sending the bus crashing down a slope.

Fireworks danger

It is the second fatal explosion on a passenger bus in China in the past week. Last week six people were killed when a bus blew up on a highway in southern Guangdong province.

The Chinese Government last year introduced tough rules aimed at controlling the availability of explosives, which are widely used in mining and other rural work.

The move followed a string of fatal accidents and a number of cases where bombings were used to settle personal feuds.

The authorities have also tried to regulate the production and transport of fireworks, particularly in the period around Chinese New Year when they are used in celebrations. But it is clear that enforcing these rules is an uphill task, particularly in rural areas.

In a separate incident, at least nine people are reported to have died in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Guangdong last Saturday.

Earlier this year, the authorities in southern Jiangxi province announced that they would close down that region's centuries-old fireworks industry after a string of fatal accidents.

But there have been reports that they are now under pressure to reconsider the decision amid fears about the impact on the local economy of an estimated 200,000 job losses.

Luoding City -- China
7 killed - 21 injured in fireworks shop explosion

2003-- Seven people were killed and 21 injured in an explosion at a fireworks shop in southern China's Guangdong province as crowds of shoppers made their Lunar New Year purchases, state media reported.    The blast in the shop in Taiping town of Luoding city, occurred at around 11:40 am Saturday, the first day of the Year of the Goat.    The explosion also destroyed some nearby shops which were packed with shoppers during the peak shopping period.   The injured were taken to local hospitals, where five of them were in serious condition.   Local government officials said the cause of the blast was still under investigation.   Chinese people traditionally let off firecrackers and fireworks at Lunar New Year to scare off evil spirits.    Last month seven people were killed and nine seriously injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in southern Hunan province.    Beijing has vowed to crack down on illegal and hazardous fireworks factories after at least 42 children were killed in March 2001 in an explosion at a village school in Jiangxi province.    China is the world's biggest producer of fireworks, with people in rural areas often illegally producing them in their homes under unsafe conditions.

 

Eshan township -- China
300 escape fireworks explosion at factory

2003 -- Around 300 workers had a narrow escape when a huge explosion tore through a fireworks factory in China's eastern Zhejiang province, state press said.

The workers had been given time off due to a heat wave crippling the area, and were not in the factory when a lightning bolt ignited 160kg of gunpowder in the storehouse.

'The county government ordered us to halt production in the scorching weather just a day before the explosion,' said director of the Fireworks factory in Eshan township.

Flying glass injured at least 10 villagers.     The explosion follows two other fireworks factory blasts in the past few days.

At least 32 people were killed in northern Hebei province last week after damp gunpowder, left outdoors to dry in the sun, ignited.

And at least another two people were killed and around 10 injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in south-western Guizhou.

Linli -- China
Explosion in Chinese fireworks factory kills seven

2003 -- An explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed seven people and injured nine others.  Government officials say police are investigating the cause of the blast in Linli, a city in Hunan province.   The death toll added to the annual surge in fatal accidents, as fireworks production rises before the Lunar New Year. This year the holiday falls on February 1.   Linli is about 700 miles south of Beijing, in the heart of China's fireworks-producing region.

Wuhan -- China
Farmer-turned vendor Twenty people killed

-- Twenty people including five police officers were killed in two fireworks explosions in Wuhan.

Three people were killed in a fireworks explosion in an illegal private fireworks plant in Huangpi District of Wuhan City.

A group of over 20 local government officials and police raided a local village in Liji Town, Huangpi, to confiscate fireworks from a farmer-turned vendor, when a second explosion occurred in the house of Liu Xiaowang, a dealer who hid some fireworks, killing 17 people, including five police officers, and injuring seven others.

Liu's house was leveled to the ground and a police car was destroyed.

Hubei -- China
Firework Deaths Rose To Twenty-Five

-- The death toll from an explosion at a firecracker factory at Hubei has risen to twenty-five.

The massive blast levelled five warehouses, damaged two houses and wounded a farmer’s cow nearby with flying bricks. It was the third such reported incident since the beginning of the year.

Dongchen -- China
-- Eleven villagers in Dongchen were killed last week in an explosion.

Sichuan -- China
-- On January 15, an explosion at a cottage factory in Sichuan killed seven people and injured two.

China
Fireworks-factory blasts kill 18, injure scores of others

-- Explosions at two Chinese fireworks factories killed a total of 18 people and injured 85 others.

The deaths came as China's fireworks industry, where fatal accidents are common, steps up production for lunar new year festivities.  Nine people were killed when a boiler holding raw materials exploded at a fireworks factory in the southern city of Yulin.   25 people were injured.

China's fireworks industry employs hundreds of thousands of people, many in poor areas. Much of the work is done by hand.   In the second disaster, a series of seven or eight  explosions ripped apart a rural factory in Jiangxi province, killing nine people and injuring 60.

China
96 people killed, 83 injured in three months

-- Firecracker explosions killed 96 people and injured 83 in the three months leading up to the Lunar New Year.

The deaths and injuries occurred in 21 fireworks accidents around the country since late November,    citing police statistics.

In one instance 10 people died on December 25 trying to save a farmer whose illegal fireworks operation blew up in the central province of Henan. The farmer also died in the explosions.

Another explosion at an illegal fireworks plant in neighbouring Anhui province last month killed 14 people, including 11 students who were helping assemble firecrackers.

The Year of the Rabbit falls on February 16 and celebrations begin on Monday evening.

Fireworks, a Chinese invention, have traditionally played a key role in Lunar New Year celebrations. The noisy explosions are said to frighten away evil spirits.

Beijing banned their use in major cities in the early 1990s to prevent earsplitting noise and gruesome injuries.

Baizhu Village -- China
Fireworks blast kills 9

2004 -- The last day of 2003 saw a fireworks blast that took 37 lives. Now the press is reporting on another fireworks blast that killed 9 on the first day of 2004.

Nine people have been killed and five injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in a village in central China's Hunan Province. The explosion occurred Wednesday morning at a private fireworks factory in Baizhu Village, Liling City, killing the owner of the factory and family members, said officials from the city government.

Liling is one of the major fireworks production bases in Hunan.

In 2003, the city arrested 69 owners of illegal fireworks factories, 12 of whom were jailed.

Hunan province -- China
Chinese fireworks blast kills 11

2004 -- An explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed up to 11 people, including a number of children.

The blast is the third in as many days in China as production is stepped up to meet demand for fireworks for the annual Lunar New Year holiday.

The latest disaster occured yesterday at Liling city in Hunan province.

Reports say many of the dead appeared to be from the same family, including a three-year-old boy.

A 12-year-old girl who was passing by at the time was also killed.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a fireworks factory blast in northeastern Liaoning province had risen to 38.

Latest Chinese fireworks plant blast kills 11

-- A powerful blast at a privately owned fireworks plant in southern China has killed at least 11 people, the latest such accident reported in the run-up to the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The explosion flattened the two-storey workshop in a village near Liling city in Hunan province, the Changsha Evening News said in a report seen yesterday. The cause of the blast was not known.

The report followed another explosion that killed at least 37 workers at a plant open for just three days in northeastern Liaoning province. Seventeen people were still being treated in hospital after that blast, Xinhua said.

An associate professor who set up the plant in August to make safe and environmentally friendly fireworks had been arrested for questioning, Xinhua said.

Jiaocunmiao Village -- China
14 dead, 5 injured in fireworks explosion  

2004 -- Fourteen were confirmed dead and five injured in the fireworks explosion at a farmhouse in Jiaocunmiao Village, Changleji Township of Caoxian County, Heze City of east China's Shandong Province on Thursday afternoon, said sources with the local public security department.

The fireworks workshop is an uncertificated one and all workers are illegal employees, said the director of the Caoxian County Public Security Bureau.

According to him, all the 14 killed in the explosion are personnel working at the illegal workshop, including two heads of the workshop and 12 workers. And so far, identities of nine victims were confirmed.

Fifteen houses were ruined during the accident, including the five in the courtyard where the workshop located. And 63 houses around were damaged to some extent.

Located at an unused courtyard, the workshop had been unknown to the neighborhood as a fireworks production site since it was put into operation over 10 days ago.

Among the five injured, three are workers who were working at the workshop when the explosion occurred.

According to the most slightly injured worker, when the explosion occurred, there were around 16 workers at the workshop.

Working at the workshop for eight days, he was fortunate to evade death as he was taking a break at the yard when the explosion occurred.

An old man at the age of 74, is the most severely injured. As the cook of the workshop, the old man is still in danger because of severe burns.

Free medical treatment will be offered to the five injured and collapsed or damaged houses will be rebuilt or repaired by the local government, said the head of the Changleji township.

And 20,000 yuan (US$2,410) will be awarded for families of each victim killed in the accident as compensation, except for the two heads of the workshop, he said.

Jingangling Village -- China
Fireworks blast kills 5

2004 -- Five people were killed and one other was seriously wounded in Hunan Province after a powerful explosion rocked a rural house Sunday, local officials said Monday.

The explosion occurring at 6:45: p.m. Sunday in Jingangling Village of Yaotianping Town in Dingcheng District of Changde City,torn through the house of a local peasant who illegally produced fireworks and crackers, according to the information center of the province's work safety administration.

The person seriously wounded was out of danger after being rushed to hospital, said a local official, without giving details on the identities of those killed.

He said the illegal fireworks workshop had been shut down repeatedly by local work safety administration departments but he resumed production secretly.

Further investigation is underway, and a work safety examination is being carried out in Dingcheng District.

Erhuping Village -- China
Ten killed in fireworks explosion

"Ten people were killed after a cargo truck loaded with fireworks exploded in a fireworks plant in Erhuping Village, Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie City, central China's Hunan Province, sources said here Wednesday."

The tragedy occurred about 7:20 p.m. Tuesday when the loaded truck was ready to leave the fireworks plant, a collectively-owned unit with 20 employees, according to the provincial production security supervision administration. The explosion blew up the workshop immediately and destroyed the truck, resulting in economic losses estimated at 200,000 yuan (more than 24,000 US dollars).

The fireworks plant was closed down on March 15 by local police for poor production security administration.

Police are hunting for the legal representative of the plant, who fled on hearing of the incident.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

This plant had actually been closed down in March but was still operating. The explosion killed half of the workforce according to figures provided by officials.