At least 36 people have been killed in a fire at a factory in the Chinese city of Anyang, in central China’s Henan province. That writes news agency Reuters based on state media. Two people are still missing.
The fire broke out in the industrial district of the city for unknown reasons on Monday afternoon. The local emergency services turned out en masse with dozens of fire trucks to extinguish the fire. According to the authorities, “criminal suspects” have been arrested in connection with the fire.
Industrial disasters and major accidents are more common in China, partly due to local-level corruption, weak safety standards and lack of enforcement. For example, last year 25 people were killed in a gas explosion at a large market in the city of Shiyan. Two years earlier, an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng killed 78 people.
China’s worst business disaster in recent years occurred at the port of Tianjin. Several chemicals exploded there, killing at least 173 people.