Beijing, Sept 10. (dpa/GNA) – Twenty-five people have died in a fire on a cargo ship, in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, state media reported on Thursday.
Five people previously reported as missing were later found dead, state media reported in the evening.
A total of 42 people had been on board the freighter, according to the reports. Twelve people were rescued from the ship, and five others were taken to hospital.
Rescue operations were still under way in the evening, according to state television. A photograph showed the Ocean Melody, sailing under the Liberian flag, in a dock, with fire engines parked in front of it. How the freighter caught fire was initially unclear.
Chinese state media had reported earlier that the vessel was a foreign freighter that had caught fire, during repair work at a shipyard in the morning, causing numerous casualties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued “important instructions” to persevere with the search and rescue of missing persons, according to the official news agency Xinhua. Xi usually speaks out only in major accidents, calling for important lessons to be drawn from such incidents, as he did again on this occasion.
He had recently issued similar instructions following the deadly flash floods on the border between Tibet and Nepal.
GNA