Last month in Huayang, Liuyang, Hunan, a major explosion occurred at the Huasheng Fireworks Factory, resulting in the death of 37 people, 1 person missing, and 51 people hospitalized with injuries. Currently, six officials in the area have been under investigation for their roles in the incident.
On the evening of June 11th, the “Sanxiang Disciplinary” WeChat public account revealed that three officials from the Hunan Emergency Management System were under investigation.
These three individuals are Lei Min, Deputy Director of the Safety Production Emergency Rescue Command Center of the Hunan Provincial Emergency Management Department, Zhong Caifang, former Party Committee Member and Deputy Director of the Changsha Emergency Management Bureau, and Yang Hai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Liuyang Emergency Management Bureau.
Earlier on June 5th, three officials from Liuyang City, a county-level city, were investigated, including Li Xiang, former member of the Liuyang City Committee and former Deputy Mayor, Gao Chengjian, former Deputy Battalion Chief of the Liuyang City Public Security Bureau’s patrol police and second-level police officer, and Liu Yongqi, Deputy Director of the “Safe Law and Emergency Management Office” in Guandu Town, Liuyang City.
On May 4th at around 4:43 pm, a major explosion occurred at the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Displaying Co., Ltd. in Liuyang City, Changsha City, Hunan Province. By May 8th at 12:00 pm, the accident had resulted in 37 deaths, 1 missing person, and 51 people receiving medical treatment.
Satellite images show that after the explosion, more than 20 production workshops were completely leveled, with hardly any buildings remaining.
According to information from “Qichacha,” the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Displaying Co., Ltd. was established in 2000 and is located in Binghe Village, Guandu Town, Liuyang City. The legal representative is Hu Zhengping, with a registered capital of 5.4 million RMB, mainly engaged in the production and sale of fireworks and firecrackers.
Following the incident, the responsible individuals of the company have been placed under “control measures” by the authorities.
Of note, in February of this year, the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Displaying Co., Ltd. was fined for violating regulations when their workers improperly stored and weighed industrial potassium chlorate (oxidant) and salts of phthalic acid (reductant). These two substances are said to be the main components of fireworks and when mixed together, can potentially cause an explosion with just a small amount of static electricity or friction. However, local regulatory authorities only imposed a fine of 15,000 RMB on the company.