A substantial fire aboard a cargo ship docked in Qingdao has resulted in at least 25 fatalities, according to state media. The blaze ignited on the bulk carrier, identified as the Ocean Melody, around 11:15 a.m. on Thursday.
The vessel, which sails under a Liberian flag, was docked at the Beihai Shipbuilding Company for repairs, having arrived on August 31. It had 42 individuals on board when the fire broke out.
Emergency services responded to the incident in Qingdao, a major shipping hub on China's eastern coast, and managed to extinguish the fire by 2:30 p.m. that same day. Seventeen people were rescued; five of those rescued were taken to the hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.
Online videos showed smoke emanating from the ship, blanketing nearby vessels, as fire engines gathered at the scene. The cause of the fire remains unknown. One witness reported seeing smoke but neither hearing an explosion nor smelling anything.
Following the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued instructions for an urgent rescue operation for those missing on the ship and called for stringent implementation of preventive measures to avert major accidents. Premier Li Qiang also directed efforts to rescue individuals who might be trapped.
Beihai Shipbuilding is part of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the world's largest shipbuilder, which engages in shipbuilding and ship repair. The incident occurred amidst a backdrop of several significant industrial accidents in China over the past year, often attributed to lax safety regulations.
Previous accidents include a deadly explosion and fire at a Fujian province shipyard in August that killed one firefighter and injured 12 others, and a blast at a fireworks factory in central China in May that claimed 37 lives. In July, a fire at a shoe factory in Fujian resulted in at least 28 deaths.