Death toll rises to 37 from China fireworks factory blast
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The blast at a fireworks manufacturing factory in Liuyang on May 6 is the deadliest blast reported in China since 2019.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING - The death toll after a fireworks factory explosion in the southern Chinese province of Hunan has risen from 26 to 37 with one person still missing, state news agency Xinhua said on May 8.
The deadliest blast reported in China since 2019 happened at around 4.40pm local time on May 4 in Hunan’s Liuyang, known as China's fireworks capital because it manufactures 60 per cent of the domestic supply of the devices and about 70 per cent of exports.
Xinhua said on-site research and rescue work has been completed and 51 people are being treated at hospitals.
An investigation into the incident has been launched and police have summoned eight people for questioning on suspicion of causing the deadly explosion, state media said.
The probe is under supervision of China’s top prosecutors, while Hunan has ordered the suspension of operations for all fireworks plants in the city for safety inspections.
In June 2025, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people.
In 2019, a chemical plant blast in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu left 78 people dead. REUTERS
