Explosion At China's Hunan Fire Flower Factory Kills 9 People

JAKARTA - The explosion at a fireworks factory in southern China, killed nine people and injured 26 others.

The Xinhua state news agency reported the explosion occurred at 08.23 am local time, Monday 16 June at the plant owned by Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Company Ltd.

As reported by Reuters on Tuesday, June 17, a video published by state media showed black and gray smoke billowing into the sky as fireworks exploded from flames while emergency services surveyed the scene.

A team from the emergency management ministry was also sent to the location.

Firefighters took more than 20 hours to extinguish the fire on Monday, according to local media.

The governor of Hunan province, Mao Weiming, who visited the location on Tuesday, June 17, urged the local government to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion and hold the relevant parties accountable.

The Changde headquartered Kembang Api company Hunan Shanzhou, founded in 2017 and employs 95 people, according to information tracker Qichacha's company.

The company produces chemicals used to manufacture explosives, detonators, and fireworks.

The explosion comes just weeks after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China that killed 5 people. This incident highlights the risks in storing hazardous and flammable chemicals at the world's top manufacturing plant despite years of cracking down on unsafe practices.

Two major explosions in warehouses in the port city of Tianjin in 2015 killed more than 170 people and injured 700 people, prompting the government to overhaul its chemical storage laws.