Fire on bulk carrier kills 25 at Qingdao Beihai

Twenty-five people were killed at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding in China, after a fire broke out aboard the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Melody on September 10th, while the vessel was undergoing repair and inspection work.
Chinese authorities said 42 people were aboard when the fire started at about 11:15 am local time. Twelve people were evacuated safely and five injured workers were taken to hospital, where their conditions were reported as stable. The remaining 25 people were initially listed as missing. Rescue teams later located all 25, none of whom showed signs of life.
The fire was extinguished at about 2:30 pm after emergency management personnel, firefighters, police and medical teams were deployed to the yard.
The vessel, built in 2006, has a deadweight of approximately 55,700 tonnes. Ship-tracking data cited by Reuters identified Yuyangkunpeng Shanghai Ship Management as manager and Huili Shipping Co. as registered owner. The vessel had been at the Qingdao yard since August 31st.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the parent company of Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, confirmed that a foreign-flagged cargo vessel caught fire during maintenance operations and said resources had been mobilised to support the emergency response.
Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed authorities to investigate the cause of the accident and strengthen fire-prevention measures, while Premier Li Qiang called for treatment of the injured and measures to prevent secondary incidents. The cause remains under investigation.