Chinese state television CCTV reports that a fire on a foreign-flagged cargo ship parked at a port in eastern China has killed twenty-five persons. According to CCTV, 17 of the 42 passengers were evacuated, and five of them are in stable condition at the hospital. At approximately 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT), the fire broke out as the ship was being maintained at a shipyard in the city of Qingdao. CCTV shows that it was removed a little more than three hours later.
According to tracking site MarineTraffic, photos issued by official media identified the ship as the Ocean Melody, a Liberian-flagged carrier measuring 190 meters (623 feet) in length that arrived in Qingdao on August 31. Qingdao is one of the busiest ports in the world and a significant trading hub. What started the fire is unknown. Thick smoke was billowing from the ship, but he did not hear an explosion, an eyewitness told the AFP news agency. Premier Li Qiang emphasised the need to “prevent secondary disasters” while the nation’s leader, Xi Jinping, earlier called for “all-out” search and rescue operations.
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