Beijing: At least 20 people were killed when a fire broke out on a foreign-flagged cargo ship undergoing repairs in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, state media reported Thursday.
The blaze started at around 11.15 am at the state-owned Qingdao Beihai shipyard, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Twenty people were killed in the fire, state-run CGTN reported.
President Xi Jinping has given orders to step up search and rescue efforts, according to CCTV, a rare instance of instructions from the top leadership accompanying an accident report, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Xi also called for a swift investigation into the cause of the fire and to ensure prompt follow-up and victim support, the report said.
All regions and relevant departments must “draw profound lessons from the blaze”, tighten preventive measures and “resolutely curb major accidents to safeguard lives and property”, he was quoted as saying.
The blaze started just after 11 am at the Qingdao Beihai shipyard in Qingdao, Shandong province.
A photo released by state news agency Xinhua suggests the ship is the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier the Ocean Melody. According to the MarineTraffic website, the vessel is moored in Qingdao.
Premier Li Qiang had ordered emergency teams to “focus on rescuing trapped personnel and treating the injured”, while “preventing secondary disasters”, the CCTV report said.
He has directed the State Council to use the incident as a warning to further tighten safety production responsibilities across all localities and sectors, and to deepen inspections for risk hazards.
The Ministry of Emergency Management had sent a working group to the scene to guide rescue and investigation efforts. At the same time, provincial authorities in Shandong had mobilised resources to manage on-site operations, CCTV said.
Qingdao Beihai is a major shipyard managed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. It specialises in commercial shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore engineering.
The facilities are spread across 330 hectares (815 acres) along 9 km (5.6 miles) of coastline, the Post reported.
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