At least 25 people have lost their lives this Thursday after a fire broke out on a ship that was under repair at a shipyard in the Chinese city of Qingdao, in the eastern province of Shandong, according to authorities who have confirmed that there are no missing persons inside the damaged vessel.
The fire is believed to have originated on a foreign-flagged ship while it was undergoing repair work at the aforementioned shipyard, according to information released by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, which has not yet provided further details about the origin of the fire or the nationalities of the deceased victims.
The President of China, Xi Jinping, has ordered local officials to accelerate search and rescue efforts at the Beihai shipyard and to immediately launch an investigation to clarify what happened and to hold accountable those responsible in accordance with the current legislation in the Asian giant.
According to the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the flames began around 11:15 a.m. (local time) during maintenance work at the shipyard facilities, which is related to the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
At the time of the incident, there were 42 people on board the ship: twelve of them were evacuated unharmed, while five were injured and were taken to the hospital, where they remain in stable condition. Since then, emergency teams have located 25 bodies and response efforts are ongoing in the area.