BEIJING: A fire erupted Thursday (Sept 10) on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked in an Chinese port, leaving at least 20 people dead and five missing, state media said.
The bulk carrier, moored in the eastern shipping hub of Qingdao, had 42 people on board when the fire broke out, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Of those, 17 have been evacuated including five who were injured, and another five were still missing. Twenty people were found with "no signs of life", CCTV said.
The broadcaster said that "the open flames were extinguished at around 2:30 pm (0630 GMT)." State news agency Xinhua earlier said that the fire broke out at around 11:15 am.
"A foreign cargo ship of Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Qingdao, Shandong Province, caught fire during its port call for maintenance, causing heavy casualties," Xinhua said, without specifying the cause of the fire.
President Xi Jinping called for urgent search and rescue operations, and "stressed the need to... strictly hold those responsible to account", Xinhua said.
A witness from a neighbouring residential compound told AFP he saw thick smoke coming from the ship, but did not hear 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 shared a photo of the scene showing a large ship called the Ocean Melody docked at a yard, with several fire trucks stationed in front of it.
Ocean Melody is a 190-metre (623-foot) long bulk carrier sailing under the Liberian flag, according to vessel tracking website MarineTraffic, which located the ship as moored in Qingdao.
- 'Profound lesson' -
Qingdao is the hometown and namesake of Tsingtao beer and a major international maritime hub, connected to more than 700 ports in over 180 countries and regions, according to state media.
The Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding yard operates as a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
Xi said that "all regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, thoroughly investigate and rectify all types of fire hazards".
There have been several major industrial accidents in China over the last year, where safety regulations are often lax.
In August, an explosion and ensuing fire at a shipyard in Fujian province killed one fire and rescue worker, and injured 12 others, according to state media.
China launched a campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings last November, after a huge blaze engulfed several tower blocks in Hong Kong, killing 168 people.
In May, a blast at a fireworks factory in central China killed 37 people, marking one of the nation's deadliest industrial accidents in years.
And a fire in a shoe factory in eastern Fujian province in July killed at least 28 people. - AFP
