China Cargo Ship Fire: Death toll rises to 25; Xi Jinping says ‘all regions must draw profound lessons from incident’

The death toll from a fire that broke out Thursday aboard a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked at a Chinese port has climbed to 25, according to state media. The toll includes five people who had earlier been reported missing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to step up search and rescue efforts and “stressed the need to... strictly hold those responsible to account”.

Following the incident, Xi stated that "all regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, thoroughly investigate and rectify all types of fire hazards".

The bulk carrier was docked at Qingdao, a major shipping centre in eastern China, when the blaze started. According to state broadcaster CCTV, there were 42 people aboard the vessel at the time.

Seventeen people were evacuated from the ship. CCTV reported that 25 others had been found with "no signs of life".

As per the report, the blaze had been brought under control, with “the open flames were extinguished at around 2:30 pm (0630 GMT).” Xinhua had earlier reported that the fire started at approximately 11:15 am.

According to Xinhua, “A foreign cargo ship of Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Qingdao, Shandong Province, caught fire during its port call for maintenance, causing heavy casualties", although the agency did not give details about what triggered the incident.

What did witness say?

A witness living in a nearby residential complex told AFP that he noticed dense smoke rising from the vessel, although he said there was no sound of an explosion.

"I saw the smoke from the ship by chance, but there was no visible fire," he said. “I didn't hear an explosion or smell anything.”

Xinhua released an image from the site showing the Ocean Melody, a large vessel berthed at a shipyard, with multiple fire engines positioned outside.

MarineTraffic, a vessel-tracking platform, identified the Ocean Melody as a 190-metre (623-foot) bulk carrier registered under the Liberian flag and reported that it was moored in Qingdao.

Qingdao, the city that gave its name to Tsingtao beer, is also a key global shipping centre. State media reported that the port has maritime links with more than 700 ports across over 180 countries and regions.

The Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding facility is a unit of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

The latest incident comes amid a series of serious industrial accidents reported in China over the past year, with concerns often raised about weak enforcement of workplace safety standards.

Several deadly industrial and fire-related incidents over the past year in China

Recent industrial accidents have renewed concerns over safety standards in China.

A shipyard explosion followed by a fire in Fujian province in August claimed the life of a fire and rescue worker and left 12 others injured, state media reported.

China began a nationwide drive to address fire risks in high-rise buildings last November, following a massive blaze that swept through multiple residential towers in Hong Kong and killed 168 people.

The country also witnessed a deadly explosion at a fireworks plant in central China in May, which claimed 37 lives and was among the deadliest industrial incidents reported in years.

In July, another fire at a shoe factory in eastern Fujian province left at least 28 people dead.