June 16th, in the morning, a major explosion occurred at the Shanzhou Fireworks Factory in Shanzhou Village, Tingxiandu Town, Linli County, Hunan Province. According to officials, the incident resulted in one injury and one person missing.
Footage taken by villagers shows thick smoke billowing at the scene, accompanied by the sound of fireworks explosions, with the ceiling of a villager’s house shaking loose and falling down.
Many local netizens commented on the video section, saying, “Early in the morning, I thought it was an earthquake and ran out after taking a card.” “My dad is in the neighboring county, and the house shook three or four times.” “I’m in Shuangqiaoping Town, Changde, and I was woken up three times after 8 o’clock.” “My house is 42.3 kilometers away, the windows were shaking, and my grandpa is worried if the house is damaged.”
The Linli County Emergency Management Bureau reported that around 8:23 a.m. on June 16th, the explosion occurred at the Shanzhou Fireworks Factory in Shanzhou Village, Tingxiandu Town, Linli County, with the cause of the accident under investigation.
The person in charge of the fireworks factory said in an interview with Jiemu News that the rescue operation is underway, the fire is quite large, and two workers are still missing. There are around ten to twenty thousand explosive cakes stored in the factory, with about one gram of gunpowder in each cake. People in the vicinity have evacuated. The factory starts work at 3 a.m., and the incident occurred close to the end of the shift.
According to information from the Linli County Emergency Bureau, the explosion occurred during the process of loading explosives, with five of the seven operators already evacuated. The other two personnel were trapped, one injured, and the other still in the process of being rescued.
According to Tianyancha, the Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Co., Ltd., located in Shanzhou Village, Tingxiandu Town, Linli County, was established in 2017. The company’s main business is the manufacturing of chemical raw materials and chemical products, specializing in the production of explosives, pyrotechnics, and fireworks, with a registered capital of 15 million yuan.
Daily Economic News reported that prior to this incident, the company had been fined by the Linli County Emergency Management Bureau on May 28 for changing the use of its workshop.