A fire at a factory in Anyang, Henan province, China killed 36 people and left 2 more missing on Monday, according to the state-run newspaper Henan Daily.
On Tuesday, the newspaper claimed that 2 more victims had been located, bringing the total number of fatalities from the fire to 38. The fire took nearly 7 hours to extinguish.
Rescue services first receive reports of the fire at 4.22pm of a fire at Kaixinda Trading Co Ltd. Two people are in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries in addition to the deceased and missing.
Those in charge said they had arrested “criminal suspects” in connection with the blaze, but gave no other information.
After receiving the alarm, the municipal fire rescue detachment immediately dispatched forces to the scene,” CCTV reported.
“Public security, emergency response, municipal administration and power supply units rushed to the scene at the same time to carry out emergency handling and rescue work,” it said. The fire was extinguished by around 11pm.
Several recent industrial mishaps in China have resulted in multiple deaths, creating serious concerns for public safety.
Several explosions at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed at least 173 people in 2015.
In a restaurant in the city of Shenyang in the country’s northeast, a large explosion occurred in October. The explosion killed at least three people and injuring over thirty. The gas leak happened in an apartment complex that also housed businesses.
