President urges all-out rescue, seeks answers as accident claims 26 lives

President Xi Jinping demanded a prompt investigation and proper handling of the aftermath following an explosion at a fireworks plant in Central China’s Hunan province on May 4, stressing that those responsible must be held accountable.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made an instruction ordering strengthened risk screening and hazard control in key sectors, enhanced public safety management, and efforts to safeguard people’s lives and property.

Authorities across regions and departments must draw profound lessons from the accident and reinforce responsibility for workplace safety, Xi stressed.

Premier Li Qiang, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged efforts to strengthen workplace safety in key industries and sectors and resolutely prevent the occurrence of major accidents.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing led senior officials from relevant departments to Liuyang, a county-level city under the provincial capital Changsha, on May 5 to guide emergency rescue and response efforts following the explosion.

Zhang stressed the need to spare no effort in searching for the missing, treating the injured, and advancing the investigation and rectification of risks and hidden dangers in key industries and sectors.

He also called for intensifying the crackdown on illegal and noncompliant activities in the fireworks and hazardous chemicals industries. Violations — including overstaffing, excessive use of gunpowder, operations beyond the licensed scope, production exceeding designed capacity, and unauthorized alteration of workshop usage and production processes — must be severely penalized, it was stressed.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, will establish an accident investigation team to examine the case.

The explosion occurred at around 4:40 pm on May 4 at the plant of Huasheng, a fireworks manufacturing and display company. As of late May 5, it had caused 26 deaths and had left 61 people injured.

Officials said at a news conference in Liuyang in the afternoon on May 5 that on-site rescue operations had been basically completed, with efforts being made to treat the injured, prevent secondary disasters and inspect fireworks producers in the city, which have all halted operations as of 7 pm the previous day.

Later on May 5, authorities announced that all fireworks production enterprises across Hunan had also suspended operations to eliminate potential safety hazards.

Before the conference, all participants observed a moment of silence for the victims.

Chen Bozhang, deputy Party secretary and mayor of Changsha, said that the Changsha Party Committee and the municipal government expressed deep condolences and offered sincere apologies to the victims’ families, as well as the injured, other affected people and the whole of society.

Chen said that more than 1,500 personnel from multiple departments have been mobilized to carry out emergency rescue, medical treatment and other related work.

“Personnel verification is underway. The person in charge of the company has been detained by police,” he added.

Ding Weiming, Party secretary and political commissar of Changsha’s fire and rescue team, said that responders faced major challenges — a high risk of repeated explosions and harsh site conditions.

Ding noted that fire trucks and remote-controlled water cannons will be used to protect the two intact but highly hazardous on-site gunpowder depots.

Liu Jiayong, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Changsha Health Commission, said that among the 61 injured, 55 have minor injuries and were in stable condition after receiving treatment, while six were in a critical condition and were receiving targeted treatment.

Dai Shuiwen, mayor of Liuyang, said, “We have closed fireworks plants and launched comprehensive safety inspections and rectification campaigns across all sectors simultaneously, in order to close regulatory loopholes, hold companies fully accountable for safety and raise overall safety standards.”

Contact the writers at chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn