Fireworks Blasts Kill 29 in China

BEIJING â€”  At least 29 people were killed and 141 injured in a series of explosions at a fireworks factory in northern China, government media reported Tuesday, in the latest incident illustrating the dangers inherent in one of China’s deadliest and most poorly regulated industries.

China Central Television said the explosions occurred Monday evening at a plant in the town of Wangkou, in Hebei province.

The New China News Agency said that the explosion destroyed the factory’s main workroom and that buildings were damaged more than 300 feet away. Television and Web site pictures showed piles of debris at the site and the blackened shells of cars and buses. Witnesses reported seeing or hearing at least three explosions.

Early last year, a series of deadly explosions at fireworks factories around China led the government to promise a new safety program for the industry, including more stringent inspections and licensing.

In an incident that caused particular outrage, 42 people, most of them children, were killed in 2001 in an explosion at their school in southern China. Parents said the children had been forced to make fireworks as part of their daily routine. Then-Premier Zhu Rongji issued an unusual televised apology for failing to protect public safety.

China has the world’s largest fireworks industry, housed in thousands of factories and even in people’s homes, making comprehensive regulation difficult.

The cause of Monday’s explosions was under investigation, though at least one police official said sustained scorching temperatures could have caused the fireworks to ignite, setting off a chain reaction of blasts. The factory in Wangkou had been approved for fireworks manufacturing in December 2000, according to the New China News Agency report.