A fire broke out on a foreign-flagged cargo ship undergoing repairs at a shipyard in Qingdao, Shandong Province, resulting in 20 fatalities and 5 missing persons.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, the fire occurred at 11:15 a.m. on September 10 at the Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Company, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Group.
At the time of the incident, there were 42 people on board the vessel. Twelve individuals were able to escape safely, while five were injured and transported to a hospital. Their injuries are not life-threatening.
The remaining 25 crew members were initially unreachable, but search and rescue teams located 20 of them by 5:30 p.m. All were found deceased, and the other five are still unaccounted for.
The fire was extinguished around 2:30 p.m., approximately three hours after it started. Chinese authorities have deployed emergency management, firefighting, public security, and health officials to continue search and recovery efforts at the site.
The nationality of the ship has not yet been disclosed, with authorities only confirming that it is a foreign-flagged cargo vessel.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed officials to prioritize the search for the missing individuals, support for the victims' families, and the overall response to the incident. He also called for a swift investigation into the cause of the fire and strict accountability for those responsible.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has emphasized the need to focus on rescue operations and medical treatment for the injured, as well as to implement thorough safety measures to prevent further incidents.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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