- By Shubham Bajpai
- Thu, 10 Sep 2026 05:54 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Qingdao shipyard fire kills 20 on foreign cargo vessel.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered all-out rescue efforts.
- Blaze during maintenance controlled after three hours.
At least 20 people were killed while five others were missing after a foreign-flagged cargo vessel, docked at Qingdao Beihai Shipyard in China's eastern Shandong Province, caught fire.
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, there were 42 people onboard the ship when the fire erupted. 12 of them were evacuated, and five were rushed to hospital. Their condition remains stable.
Reacting to the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an 'all-out' seqarcha nd rescue operation. Premier Li Qiang, on the other hand, stressed the need to prevent secondary disasters and rescue those trapped.
Xi also said, "All regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, thoroughly investigate and rectify all types of fire hazards".
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According to reports, the blaze erupted at around 11:15 local time. The ship was docked for maintenance at the Qingdao shipyard. The fire was brought under control in over three hours, CCTV reported.
As per a picture released by Chinese news agency Xinhua, the vessel involved in the incident was the Ocean Melody. LSEG ship-tracking data identified it as a 20-year-old Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier managed by Yuyangkunpeng Shanghai Shp Mgm.
Huili Shipping Co Ltd is listed as its registered owner. LSEG data showed the ship arrived at Qingdao on August 31 and has been docked there since then.
Fire incidents in China
The latest incident comes amid a string of major industrial accidents in the Asian country in recent months. A similar incident was reported in August gthis year, when an explosion and subsequent fire at a shipyard in Fujian province killed one fire and rescue officer and left 12 others injured.
In May, 37 people were killed after an explosion at a firework factory in Central China while a shoe factor fire in July claimed 28 lives.
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