Overview
- The blast at Huasheng’s Liuyang complex Monday killed at least 26 people and injured 61, according to state media.
- Rescuers evacuated nearby areas and deployed more than 1,500 firefighters, medics and police with drones and robots to secure the site.
- Xi Jinping urged rapid rescue and strict accountability, police detained company managers, and an official investigation is underway.
- Liuyang’s mayor ordered all fireworks factories in the city to halt production for a comprehensive safety review.
- The accident struck China’s top fireworks hub, a city that supplies a large share of domestic and global pyrotechnics, renewing scrutiny of industry safety.