Fireworks Factory Explosion in China Kills at Least 26

An explosion on Monday in a fireworks factory in southern China killed at least 26 people and injured dozens more, prompting the nation’s leader, Xi Jinping, to demand a rapid investigation and punishment for those responsible.

The explosion erupted in a factory in Liuyang, Hunan Province, on Monday afternoon, but the scale of destruction only started to become clear a day later. Video from the aftermath showed rescuers with searchlights looking through smoldering rubble, as well as shattered windows of homes some 300 yards from the explosion.

The Chinese government often holds back details of accidents while it gathers information and prepares to issue a response. But this explosion appears to be one of China’s deadliest in recent years. In a sign of its seriousness, Mr. Xi on Tuesday urged investigators to identify and hold accountable those responsible and to “strengthen identification and correction of risks and hazards in key industries,” according to People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.

Investigators reached an initial finding that the blast originated in a workshop for assembling and packaging fireworks, China’s CCTV news, the main state broadcaster, reported. The report also said that people from the company that owns the factory have been placed “under control,” suggesting that they are in detention while the investigation continues.

The number of dead could still rise. Officials said on Tuesday that 61 people had been injured by the blast, but did not describe the extent of the injuries, or how many of the casualties were factory workers or nearby residents. A report from CCTV said many of the injuries were broken limbs.

China has long been plagued by deadly industrial accidents. In 2019, an explosion at a chemical plant in the east killed 78 people. In the past decade, the government has tightened safety controls, reducing the number of industrial explosions and mine disasters. Last year, almost 18,300 people died in workplace accidents in China, a 7 percent decline from 2024, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

But factories that make fireworks remain a vulnerability. In 2019, another fireworks factory explosion in Liuyang killed 13 people. Officials had initially claimed that only seven people died, concealing the extent of the accident, investigators later found.

Liuyang has long been a center for making fireworks, which are lit during many festivals and celebrations. The industry sustains tens of thousands of jobs there, according to a 2023 report from Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency.

Emergency workers at the site of the latest accident remained worried about further blasts at the shattered factory, and said two explosive powder warehouses were “high-risk,” Xinhua reported.

Amy Chang Chien contributed reporting from Taipei, Taiwan.