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  "path": "/news/world/china-fireworks-factory-explosion-kills-21-dozens-injured",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-05T05:30:24.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "China's chemical export ban threatens to spark 'global supply shock' and send food prices soaring",
    "Chinese car brand Lepas to launch three new models as UK plays 'key role' in global rollout",
    "Historic British school shuts down as new Chinese owner denies 'asset-stripping' allegations",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nAn explosion at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province killed 21 people and injured 61 others on Monday afternoon.\n\nThe blast struck at around 4.40pm local time at the Huasheng Fireworks plant in Liuyang - a city known as the world’s largest producer of fireworks.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEmergency crews deployed nearly 500 personnel, including firefighters, rescue workers and medical teams, as authorities raced to contain the devastation.\n\nRobots were also sent in to search for people trapped beneath the rubble.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nOfficials ordered the evacuation of everyone living within a 3km radius of the site.\n\nAccording to state media, two gunpowder warehouses at the factory posed major risks during rescue efforts, with teams implementing humidity control measures to reduce the chance of further explosions.\n\nFootage broadcast by CCTV showed thick smoke billowing from the site, alongside collapsed buildings and debris strewn across the surrounding area.\n\nThose injured were reportedly aged from their twenties to their sixties, with some suffering bone fractures caused by flying wreckage.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne woman living around 1km from the plant told Beijing News: \"The glass windows in our homes were shattered, aluminum window frames were deformed, and even the stainless-steel doors were twisted out of shape.\"\n\nResidents also reported stones being hurled onto nearby roads by the force of the explosion, forcing villagers to flee or take alternative routes.\n\nAnother local woman said she fled the area in fear for her life.\n\nWindows in nearby residential buildings were also blown out by the blast, according to Chinese media reports.\n\n### CHINA - READ THE LATEST:\n\n\n\n\n  * China's chemical export ban threatens to spark 'global supply shock' and send food prices soaring\n  * Chinese car brand Lepas to launch three new models as UK plays 'key role' in global rollout\n  * Historic British school shuts down as new Chinese owner denies 'asset-stripping' allegations\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nPolice have detained the person responsible for operating the fireworks company as investigators work to establish the cause of the explosion.\n\nPresident Xi Jinping has ordered a full investigation and called for those responsible be held accountable.\n\nHe also called for maximum efforts to locate anyone still missing and ensure the wounded receive urgent treatment.\n\nDeadly industrial explosions remain a recurring problem in China, where fireworks are widely used during major celebrations including Lunar New Year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nIn February, 12 people were killed when a fireworks shop exploded in Hubei province during new year festivities.\n\nLast June, another blast at a Hunan fireworks factory killed nine workers and injured 26 others.\n\nLiuyang has long been synonymous with fireworks manufacturing, with pyrotechnics forming a major pillar of the local economy.\n\nChina is believed to be home to over 3,000 fireworks factories, with an estimated one billion manufactured every single year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "At least 21 people killed and dozens injured after explosion at Chinese fireworks factory"
}