Fireworks blast kills 25
2005-01-12 08:05
Beijing - An explosion at a fireworks factory in northern China killed 25 people and injured another nine, an official and state media said on Wednesday.
"I heard that 25 people have died and I am now on my way to the scene," said a communist party committee official surnamed Duan in Shanxi province, where the blast occurred on Tuesday.
The victims at the Xiangliu Firecracker Factory in Xiangfen county were mostly young women workers, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police were searching for the plant owner and trying to determine the cause of the accident, Xinhua said.
China's firecracker industry is notorious for its fatal accidents. According to official figures, 192 people died in explosions at fireworks plants in the first nine months last year.
Fireworks factory accidents are expected to increase as factories step up production in the run up to the Chinese New Year holidays starting February 9.
The overall workplace safety situation is dismal in China, with 11 620 people dying on the job between January and September last year.
- AFP