No casualties reported after fire at retired aircraft carrier in East China

NANJING -- A fire broke out during the dismantling and refitting of a retired aircraft carrier along the Yangtze River in the city of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, on Friday afternoon.

No casualties have been reported, and flames had been largely extinguished by 10 am on Saturday. An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, according to local authorities.

The aircraft carrier, named Minsk, was in 2016 moved to Nantong, where it is expected to form part of a planned aircraft carrier theme park. Minsk had previously been moored in the city of Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province for several years.

After its retirement in 1995, the aircraft carrier was sold to a company in the Republic of Korea before being resold to a Chinese company, which had transformed it into part of a military theme park in Shenzhen.