A fire aboard a foreign cargo vessel undergoing repairs at a Qingdao shipyard in eastern China caused heavy casualties on Thursday, and 
Xi Jinping ordered intensified search and rescue efforts. Twenty-five people died, CNA reported, citing state media. Of the 42 people on board, 12 were evacuated safely and five were injured and taken to hospital.
How did the fire unfold? The blaze broke out at about 11.15am during repair and inspection work at the Qingdao Beihai shipyard, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported in an account carried by CNA. Thick smoke poured from the vessel, the Liberty Times reported, and a screengrab from video provided by Qingdao WoLin Packaging showed smoke rising from a cargo ship at a port in Qingdao. The fire had been extinguished by early afternoon.
Which ship and shipyard were involved? A picture of the scene released by Xinhua showed the vessel to be the Ocean Melody, which LSEG ship-tracking data cited by CNA identified as a 20-year-old Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier managed by Yuyangkunpeng Shanghai Shp Mgm, with Huili Shipping Co Ltd listed as its registered owner. The ship had arrived at the Qingdao yard on Aug 31 and remained there since. The yard is controlled by the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), one of the world's largest shipbuilders, which describes itself as China's principal naval shipbuilder. A 2022 recruitment notice on the Qingdao unit's website said it had annual shipbuilding capacity of 3 million deadweight tons and could repair 212 vessels a year.
What did Xi order? Xi, the Communist Party's general secretary, attached great importance to the accident, ordered that search and rescue be stepped up and called for the accident to be investigated as quickly as possible, the Liberty Times reported. His instructions, as relayed by Xinhua, also called for accountability measures.
Figures referenced: Xi Jinping. — JudgeMarket.
