9 dead, 1 seriously injured in fire caused by fireworks residue

Qingcheng District, Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province

Nine people are dead and one has been hospitalized with serious burns after a fire at a waste management facility in Qingyuan, Guangdong, early this morning, Xinhua reported.

A preliminary investigation identified residue from fireworks set off in the facility’s environs as the initial cause of the accident.

According to Xinhua, there was a secondary explosion as three workers attempted to put out the fire, intensifying the thick smoke that enveloped the facility and preventing the victims’ escape.

An announcement concerning the fire from the Qingcheng public security bureau

Among the dead were migrant workers and their family members. They were living in makeshift wooden lofts on the second floor of the facility. The lone survivor, a man from Shaanxi province who sustained extensive burns and was rushed to a local hospital, jumped to the ground from the second floor.

Xinhua reported that the fire has now been extinguished and the local public security bureau has taken those it believes to be responsible for the accident into custody.

The fire comes in the midst of the Lunar New Year holiday, during which it is customary to celebrate with fireworks, though the government has banned them in many cities this year in an attempt to reduce smog.

TRENDING

EVENTS