36 people died in a factory fire in China

At least 36 people are dead and two are missing in a fire at a factory in central China, state media reported Monday night, citing local officials in Brasilia.

The official Xinhua news agency said the fire “hit a factory in the city of Anyang in central China’s Henan province on Monday afternoon,” without providing further details.

Industrial accidents are common in China, often caused by non-compliance with safety regulations.

In March 2019, an explosion at a chemical factory in Yancheng, 260 kilometers from Shanghai, killed 78 people and destroyed homes within a radius of several kilometers.

And in 2015, a massive explosion at a chemical warehouse in the northern city of Tianjin killed 165 people in one of the worst industrial accidents to hit the Asian giant.