Cargo ship fire kills 20 people

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A fire erupted Thursday on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked in an Chinese port, leaving at least 20 people dead and five missing, state media said.

The bulk carrier, moored in the eastern shipping hub of Qingdao, had 42 people on board when the fire broke out, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Of those, 17 have been evacuated including five who were injured, and another five were still missing. Twenty people were found with “no signs of life,” CCTV said.

The broadcaster said that “the open flames were extinguished at around 2:30 p.m.” State news agency Xinhua earlier said that the fire broke out at around 11:15 a.m.

“A foreign cargo ship of Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Qingdao, Shandong Province, caught fire during its port call for maintenance, causing heavy casualties,” Xinhua said, without specifying the cause of the fire.

President Xi Jinping called for urgent search and rescue operations, and “stressed the need to... strictly hold those responsible to account,” Xinhua said.

A witness from a neighboring residential compound told Agence France-Presse he saw thick smoke coming from the ship, but did not hear an explosion.

“I saw the smoke from the ship by chance, but there was no visible fire,” he said.

“I didn’t hear an explosion or smell anything.”