A massive fire has engulfed a foreign-flagged cargo ship in the port of Qingdao, in eastern China, causing at least 20 deaths and leaving five others missing.
According to Chinese state media, the fire broke out at around 11:00 a.m. local time on Thursday while the ship was at a shipyard for maintenance work. There were 42 people on board the ship at the time of the incident.
Emergency teams managed to evacuate 17 people. Five of them were taken to hospital for medical treatment, and their condition is reported to be stable. Five other people remain missing and search and rescue operations have been intensified.
The ship, identified as the “Ocean Melody,” was sailing under the Liberian flag and was at the Beihai Shipbuilding yard in Qingdao. The flames were extinguished after more than three hours of efforts by firefighters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for urgent search and rescue operations and for the missing people to be found as soon as possible. Premier Li Qiang has also called for the rescue of those trapped on the ship.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the incident, while rescue teams continue to search the ship and the surrounding area.
The incident has caused an immediate reaction from Chinese authorities, while investigations are expected to determine whether the fire is related to maintenance work being carried out on the ship.
