19 killed in China factory fire ahead of National Day
by The Associated Press
China continues to suffer serious industrial and transportation accidents despite efforts to boost safety
BEIJING—Nineteen people have died in a factory fire in eastern China just ahead of countrywide National Day celebrations.
The city of Ningbo said in a statement that the fire broke out Sunday afternoon at a plant making “daily necessities” in one of the city’s outlying counties. It said two other people were seriously injured and the cause is under investigation.
The fire came a day after 36 people were killed when a bus collided with a truck on an expressway in eastern China. Officials said 36 other people were injured, including nine seriously, after the bus crossed the centre divider and hit the truck head-on.
China continues to suffer serious industrial and transportation accidents despite efforts to boost safety, especially around sensitive events such as Tuesday’s National Day festivities.
Accidents this year include chemical plant explosions and the loss of dozens of firefighters in blazes in tinder-dry forests in the country’s mountainous west.
