The blaze in Anyang, a city of 5.5 million people in Henan province, broke out at 4:30 p.m. November 21 and wasn’t brought under control for another four hours, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The fire was finally extinguished at 11 p.m.
At least 38 people, mostly women, died in the blaze, with an additional two victims said to have been treated in hospital for minor injuries, city officials said. An unspecified number of suspects connected to the ownership and operation of the factory were taken into custody on as yet undisclosed charges.
State media footage showed flames and smoke engulfing a two-story steel structure in Anyang’s Wenfeng district reportedly belonging to industrial goods company Kaixinda Trading. The facility dealt with the storage of various materials including “specialized chemicals,” reports said.
According to CCTV, plastics, cloths, furniture and medicines were among the materials that caught fire, while some 240 firefighters and 63 fire trucks were reportedly dispatched to the scene.
The economy of Henan, a densely populated province of 99 million people, mostly thrives on agriculture, heavy industry and the extraction of raw minerals.
This fire killed a large number of women who had been employed to make cotton clothes and pants, according to a report in Hangzhou-based newspaper Metro Express.
While the details of the fire remain under investigation, similar industrial accidents in the past were typically caused by the lax enforcement of safety standards.