Beijing, Sep 11: A massive fire broke out on a Liberia-flagged cargo ship at the port of Qingdao in eastern China. Chinese state media reported that 20 people died and five are missing in the tragedy. According to photos released by the state-run news agency ‘Xinhua’, the incident occurred on the ‘Ocean Melody’, a vessel registered on the ship-tracking website ‘Vessel Finder’.
42 Crew Members and Rescue Operation:
A total of 42 people were on board at the time of the accident. Immediately after the fire broke out, a rescue operation was launched, and 12 people were brought to safety. Acknowledging the gravity of the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued urgent directives to officials to conduct a full-scale emergency rescue operation to locate the five missing individuals.
Investigators are gathering information regarding the condition of the injured and the actual cause of the fire. This major tragedy comes just a month after an explosion at a shipyard in China’s southeastern Fujian province, which resulted in the deaths of rescue workers and injuries to 12 people.