Dawn
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06:43 May 05, 2026
A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and injured 61, prompting a call from President Xi Jinping for a thorough investigation, state media reported on Tuesday. The explosion in Liuyang, under the administration of Hunan’s capital city of Changsha and a hub for fireworks manufacturing, occurred on Monday at around 4:40 pm (0840 GMT), according to reports by CCTV and Xinhua. Social media footage showed massive plumes of smoke billowing up into clear blue skies against a backdrop of lush, green mountains. Reuters verified the location shown in the footage, which was posted on social media on May 4, as Changsha. A Xinhua video showed thick clouds of smoke rising from a large site littered with collapsed buildings and debris. Five rescue teams of nearly 500 personnel, together with three rescue robots, were dispatched to the scene, adopting a “human machine coordinated approach” to conduct grid-style searches, according to Xinhua. Two black powder storage warehouses within t...