Death toll from cargo ship fire in China rises to 25: state media

The death toll from a fire that erupted on Thursday on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked in a Chinese port has risen to 25, including five people who had been listed as missing, state media said.

The bulk carrier, moored in the eastern shipping hub of Qingdao, had 42 people on board when the fire broke out, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

17 of those were evacuated, including five who were injured.

However, by Thursday evening “all 25 missing persons had been found, none showing signs of life”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

It said “the open flames were extinguished” by about 2:30 pm (11:30am PKT).

State news agency Xinhua said earlier that the fire broke out at around 11:15am during the ship’s port call for maintenance, without specifying the cause of the fire.

A witness from a neighbouring residential compound told AFP he saw thick smoke coming from the ship, but did not hear an explosion.

“I saw the smoke from the ship by chance, but there was no visible fire,” he said.

“I didn’t hear an explosion or smell anything.” The Xinhua state news agency shared video of the scene showing a large ship called the Ocean Melody docked at a yard, with dozens of rescuers swarming its decks and entering the vessel.

Several fire trucks and ambulances were stationed on the dock in front of the ship.

Ocean Melody is a 190-metre-long bulk carrier sailing under the Liberian flag, according to the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, which located the ship as moored in Qingdao.

‘Profound lesson’

Qingdao is the hometown and namesake of Tsingtao beer and a major international maritime hub, connected to more than 700 ports in over 180 countries and regions, according to state media.

The Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding yard operates as a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

President Xi Jinping “stressed the need to… strictly hold those responsible to account”, Xinhua reported.

Xi said that “all regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, thoroughly investigate and rectify all types of fire hazards”.

There have been several major industrial accidents in China over the past year, where safety regulations are often lax.

An explosion and ensuing fire at a shipyard in eastern Fujian province in August killed one fire and rescue worker and injured 12 others, according to state media.

China launched a campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings in November after a huge blaze engulfed several residential tower blocks in Hong Kong, killing 168 people.

A blast at a fireworks factory in central China killed 37 people in May, marking one of the nation’s deadliest industrial accidents in years.

And a fire in a shoe factory in Fujian in July killed at least 28 people.