China fireworks factory blast kills 11 in Guangxi

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China fireworks factory blast kills 11 in Guangxi

An explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi has killed 11 people and injured 17, state media say.

The blast struck the factory in the city of Cenxi in the Guangxi autonomous region on Friday afternoon.

Two businessmen have been arrested, the Xinhua news agency reported.

China's fireworks industry suffers from lax controls and there have been a number of deadly incidents in recent years.

In February, a truck carrying fireworks exploded on an elevated highway in Henan, central China, killing at least five people and causing part of the road to collapse.

In 2010, 19 people were killed in a blast in February in the southern province of Guangdong, and another 19 in an explosion in August in the city of Yichun in Heilongjiang province.

Xinhua said the cause of Friday's explosion was unknown.

BBC News - China fireworks factory blast kills 11 in Guangxi

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Most unfortunate.

Most probably it was because of lapse in safety precautions.

While people take a lot of precautions while making war materiel, like ammunition and bombs, for fireworks or making match boxes, since they seem to be less dangerous, people tend to be taking it a wee bit easy.

 

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Chinese firecrackers make Diwali risky

KOLKATA: There has been a serious dip in footfall at baazi bazaars but it is not an indicator to show the city is spending less on crackers. People are thronging areas like Canning Street and China Market for low cost China-made crackers. Even as police keep tabs on banned crackers, the market is flooded with Chinese-made varieties that barely go through quality testing.

There are at least 10 varieties of Chinese crackers, like China Enjoy-18, Chin Chilla- 32 shots, China Jolly 30 and Bling Bling, which can be traced at stretches of Canning Street, China Market and the makeshift stalls in Esplanade, Shyambazar and some parts of south Kolkata. Though they are not sold openly, they are available to the customers if they approach secretly. "These crackers are not banned but police harass us unnecessarily as that have a Chinese tag. So we don't display them," Raghu Shaw, an owner of a makeshift stall at Canning Street, said.

"There is division of responsibility between the police and the pollution control board. The cracker manufacturers bring their products and our officer stay with Kolkata police officials during the testing. Naturally we cannot tell about the crackers that are not presented before us but if we have any information we share it with the police and they take action," Pollution Control Board chairman Binoy Kanti Dutta said.

When asked about it, Sanjoy Kumar Dutta, president of North Kolkata Baazi Bazaar, said, "I also have information on Chinese crackers. It is very hard to trace them. Last year, a consignment from China was supposed to come to Kolkata port but we wrote to the police and stopped it. But nothing of that sort happened this year."

When asked whether it is having an effect on the market, Maidan Baazi Baazar secretary Chittaranjan Maity said, "If people get better quality crackers at a lower rate they will certainly opt for them."

"At present there are heavy restrictions at many ports to export crackers but China dominates the global market with a much more liberalized shipping policy. The skyrocketing prices of raw materials such as barium nitrate and potassium nitrate are increasing the price of local crackers, making it harder for domestic manufacturers to compete with the Chinese," said a firework manufacturer of Burrabazar.

Low prices are making crackers more affordable to customers. Thus, the number of burn patients during Diwali has gone up drastically.

"The number of burn patients has increased as the Chinese crackers do not adhere to safety protocol and burst accidentally. There is a need to keep an eye on these crackers," said CMRI's Anupam Golash, who specializes in plastic, cosmetic, craniofacial, hand and micro surgery.

Police are still unaware of the whole situation. "Nothing has been reported to us so far. We will certainly take action if we get specific information," a senior police officer said.

Chinese firecrackers make Diwali risky - The Times of India