Overview
- A powerful explosion at a fireworks plant in Liuyang, Hunan province, left 26 people dead and 61 injured, according to state media.
- Local emergency crews launched search and rescue operations and treated the wounded as officials cordoned off the area and moved nearby residents to safety.
- Public security authorities detained responsible personnel from the company involved as part of a criminal probe into the disaster.
- Xi Jinping instructed officials to find the cause and pursue responsibility, and investigators have not yet disclosed what triggered the blast.
- The accident struck China’s main fireworks hub, whose products ship worldwide, and it came during the Labour Day holiday after new national rules on fireworks took effect this month.