Three killed and 53 hurt after massive blast at Chinese firecracker factory
Explosion ripped through factory in Shangrao in Jiangxi province at about 12.20am on Wednesday morning
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 20 January, 2016, 9:19am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 20 January, 2016, 5:58pm
Teddy Ng
[email protected]
The huge explosion at the firecracker factory in China’s Jiangxi province early on Wednesday sent shock waves that were felt 5km away. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Three people were killed and 53 injured by a huge explosion at a Chinese firecracker factory early yesterday morning.
A resident living 5km from the factory, in Guangfeng district, in the city of Shangrao, Jiangxi (江西) province, said she had felt shock waves from the massive blast.
Four people remain missing after the firecracker factory blast in Shangyao in Jiangxi province on Wednesday morning. Photo: SCMP Pictures“There were many big bangs,” The Beijing News quoted her as saying.
Another resident told the newspaper: “I thought it was an earthquake and woke up my whole family.”
The Jiangxi Daily said the blast occurred at about 12.20am.
The dead are believed to be among a group of people, including a chef and security guards, that had been reported missing.
The factory is thought to have been making firecrackers for the Lunar New Year festival, which begins on February 8.
READ MORE: Mainland Chinese authorities end search for missing from massive Tianjin warehouse explosion
The local government has set up an emergency taskforce to investigate the explosion.
Videos and pictures posted on social media showed shattered windows and huge flames engulfing the factory after the explosion.
China has a poor safety record at factories, many of which have been hit by explosions over the past 12 months.
Two blasts ripped through a chemical warehouse in an industrial area at the port of Tianjin (天津) on August 12, killing 173 people in the nation’s worst industrial tragedy for years.
Ten days later nine people were injured by a blast at a chemical plant near the city of Zibo in eastern Shandong (山東) province.
Three weeks after the Tianjin tragedy six company executives were detained after a explosion at a chemical factory in Shandong province, killing one person.
