Society
Fireworks factory explosion deaths reach 20
By Chen Xin and Zhao Yunpeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-18 07:05
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YICHUN, Heilongjiang - The death toll from Monday's fireworks factory explosion in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province has climbed to 20, with 153 injured and four missing, local authorities said on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at 9:45 on Monday morning at a factory owned by the Huali Industry Corporation in Wumahe district of Yichun city.
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The factory also operated illegally by manufacturing large fireworks when it only had official permission to produce small firecrackers, Sun said.
Huang Yi, a spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety, said on Tuesday that many fireworks factories neglect work safety regulations in their quest for profit.
Lessons should be learned from the accident in Yichun, he said. The safety loopholes that exist in the industry need to be exposed to the public to avoid similar incidents in the future.
The explosion killed 10 and injured 35 of the factory's 51 workers, while four went missing.
Another eight were killed and 35 injured when the explosion hit the neighboring Taihua Timber Factory, which is also owned by Huali.
The accident also claimed the lives of two pedestrians, and injured scores more in collateral damage.
The fire was largely brought under control on Monday after a helicopter dumped water on the blaze.
But the situation remains serious and there are concerns that further fires could ignite at three other timber mills nearby, Xinhua News Agency reported a local government official as having said on Tuesday.
Nian Xiaodong, a 30-year-old employee at the fireworks factory whose left eye was injured in the accident, said she was packing inventory at the plant with eight other colleagues when the explosion occurred.
"I heard a deafening sound and then the building started to collapse. I could hardly see anything and the exit was blocked. The falling debris hit my eye. But we all managed to escape," said Nian, who was admitted to Yichun Forestry Center Hospital for treatment.
Nian was found trembling by the ruins of a wall when her boyfriend went to look for her.
Li Jilai, 42, another worker at the factory, sustained a head injury in the explosion.
Li, who comes from Pingxiang city, eastern Jiangxi province, said he had brought 25 people from his hometown to work at the factory. Two of them were killed in the explosion, two others were badly injured and one is missing, he said.
"I dare not go back to my hometown. How could I face their relatives?" he sobbed.
Traffic has been restricted since Monday near the site of the explosion, where only rescue workers and firefighters were allowed access on Tuesday.
More than 2,000 residents were evacuated after the blast.
The explosion shattered the windows in almost all buildings within a kilometer of the site, while shockwaves from the explosion were reported up to five kilometers away.
More than 1,700 firefighters and soldiers were dispatched in 62 fire trucks to fight the blaze and search for survivors.
