Beijing: At least 21 people were killed and 61 others injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province, officials said on Tuesday.
The blast hit the Huasheng fireworks manufacturing and display company in Liuyang, a county-level city under Changsha, the provincial capital
, on Monday afternoon, PTI reported.
Videos on Chinese social media showed widespread destruction across several kilometres.
More than 480 rescuers in five teams were deployed, along with three rescue robots. The injured were taken to hospitals, while a second round of search operations was underway.
Because the blast site is near two black powder warehouses, rescuers evacuated nearby residents and created a buffer zone to prevent a secondary accident, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The Ministry of Emergency Management sent experts to the scene to assist rescue efforts.
Police have detained the person in charge of the company, and the cause of the accident is under investigation, the report said.