China: 26 dead after explosion at fireworks factory

An explosion at a fireworks factory in China's Hunan province has killed 26 people and left 61 wounded, according to state media. Rescue operations have wrapped up at the Huasheng Fireworks plant in the southern city of Liuyang, after an explosion on Monday afternoon forced authorities to evacuate everyone within a 3km (1.9 mile) radius of the plant. Authorities deployed more than 1,500 emergency responders, along with dogs, drones and robots. They rescued seven people who were trapped under debris. Police, who are investigating the cause of the blast, have taken "control measures" against the staff in charge of the fireworks company, Chinese state media reported. Authorities said that two gunpowder warehouses within the factory area had posed a high risk amid rescue efforts, state media reported. Besides evacuating people near the fireworks plant, rescuers also implemented measures like humidifying the area to "prevent secondary accidents during the rescue". The impact of the blast was so destructive that windows of a nearby residential building were shattered, a CCTV reporter noted in a televised broadcast from the scene. The ages of the injured range from their 20s to 60s, and s