Human error led to factory fire that killed 38 people in China

Thirty-eight people were killed and two injured in a fire at a factory in central China, according to officials who accused workers of making mistakes during welding work.

“Flame hit a factory in the city of Anyang in central Henan province on Monday afternoon,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.

According to state media, emergency teams arrived at Kaixinda Trading Co. at 4:22 p.m. local time (5:22 GMT). He was alerted about the fire in his factory.

The official CCTV channel stated, “At the warning, the municipal fire platoon was immediately dispatched to the scene.”

“Public safety, emergency response, municipal administration and power operator units rushed to the scene,” the broadcaster said.

The fire was to be brought under control at 23:00 local time.

Videos show firefighters working in front of columns of smoke and flames at the factory. Another video shows the facade of the building after the fire was extinguished.

In addition to the 38 dead, two people were hospitalized but survived, according to CCTV.

Authorities reported that the suspects were taken into custody during the investigation into the fire.

“According to the initial elements of the investigation, the accident was caused by the illegal manipulation of a company employee. The fire was caused by an electrical source (operation),” CCTV said.

According to the Tianyancha database, Kaixinda Trading is a wholesaler in the machinery, building materials, non-hazardous chemicals, clothing and firefighting equipment industry.

Industrial accidents are common in China, often resulting from violating safety regulations.

An explosion also occurred at a chemical factory near Taiyuan, the capital of neighboring Shanxi Province, on Monday.

“The team was dispatched to the scene, the fire was extinguished. The balance of the casualties is still unknown,” the official Dahebao newspaper said on its Weibo platform account.

In June, one person was killed and another injured in an explosion at a chemical factory in Shanghai.

Last year, a gas explosion in the downtown city of Shiyan killed 25 people and destroyed numerous buildings.

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 ever recorded at the Asian giant.