Key takeaways:
- State media reported differing tolls: Xinhua said at least 20 people died and five were missing, while CCTV reported at least 25 deaths, according to Al Jazeera.
- The Ocean Melody had 42 people aboard; 12 were evacuated and five injured people were hospitalized in stable condition.
- President Xi Jinping called for urgent searches for missing people and said those responsible should be held to account.
A fire tore through a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked for repairs at one of China’s major ports Thursday, killing at least 20 people and leaving others unaccounted for, state media reported.
The ship was at the Beihai Shipbuilding Co. facility in the port of Qingdao, a major shipping hub on China’s northeastern coast, when the blaze broke out late Thursday morning. State media reports gave different casualty figures: Xinhua reported at least 20 deaths and five people missing, while state broadcaster CCTV reported at least 25 people dead, according to Al Jazeera.
There were 42 people on board the vessel, state media said. Twelve were safely evacuated. Five others were injured, taken to a hospital and were in stable condition.
A photo released by Xinhua identified the ship as the Ocean Melody. The vessel sails under a Liberian flag, according to the public tracking website VesselFinder.
Xinhua said the fire began at about 11 a.m. local time, while Al Jazeera, citing Xinhua, reported the start time as about 11:15 a.m. Xinhua reported the blaze was extinguished by 2:30 p.m. local time, according to CBS News. Al Jazeera reported that it was unclear whether the fire had been extinguished.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued “important instructions” for urgent rescue efforts, state media reported. Xinhua said Xi “stressed the need to urgently search for missing persons … and strictly hold those responsible to account.”
Premier Li Qiang also called for the rescue of “trapped” people and for injured people to receive medical treatment. He urged authorities to “strictly prevent secondary disasters,” according to Al Jazeera.
Xi said “all regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, thoroughly investigate and rectify all types of fire hazards,” Xinhua reported.
A witness from a nearby residential compound told Agence France-Presse he saw thick smoke rising from the ship but did not hear an explosion or see flames, CBS News reported.
Qingdao, on China’s northeastern coast, is among the country’s major shipping centers. The ship had been docked there for repairs when the fire started, state media said.
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