Hunan Fireworks Factory Explosion Kills 26, Factory Fined in February
An explosion at a fireworks and firecrackers factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China, resulted in 26 deaths and 61 injuries. The factory, which exports many products to European and American markets, had been fined for violations in February this year. It is speculated that the factory was in production at the time of the explosion.
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- 📰 Published: May 6, 2026 at 17:54
- 🔍 Collected: May 6, 2026 at 18:01 (7 min after Published)
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Liao Wen-chi, Shanghai, 6th) An explosion occurred at a fireworks and firecrackers factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China, on the 4th, resulting in 26 deaths and 61 injuries. Mainland media pointed out that many of this firecracker factory's products are sold to European and American markets, and it had been fined for violations in February this year. Industry professionals speculate that the factory was in production at the time of the explosion.
Mainland media Southern Weekend reported on the 5th that, according to "Qichacha" information, the involved enterprise in this explosion, "Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Pyrotechnics Co., Ltd.," was established in 2000. Its business scope is mainly fireworks and firecrackers production, and its legal representative is Hu Zhengping.
Huasheng Fireworks was administratively penalized on February 5th this year for violating the "Hunan Province Administrative Penalty Discretionary Standards for Safety Production (2022 Edition)" by failing to equip and train (individual) civilian explosive information registrars according to standards.
Public information also shows that the controlling shareholder of Huasheng Fireworks Company is "Hunan Liuyang Firecrackers Co., Ltd." Hunan Firecrackers was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada on June 29, 2009, and was hailed as "the first overseas listed enterprise in China's firecrackers industry." Its products are mainly sold to the United States and European markets.
The report quoted a Liuyang fireworks and firecrackers industry professional as saying that fireworks and firecrackers production is a high-risk industry. Every year from June to July, Liuyang local authorities, for safety considerations, require factories to take a "high-temperature holiday" until the high-temperature holiday ends in September. Only after the local emergency management department issues a notice and manufacturers meet production standards can production resume.
The director of a fireworks factory in Liuyang stated that even if domestic sales factories are rushing orders, they would still take 1 to 3 days off during the May Day holiday. However, export manufacturers might need to rush orders during holidays. During the high-temperature holiday, "domestic sales factories are all shut down," but there might be some special policies for foreign trade manufacturers.
According to an anonymous Hunan fireworks manufacturer's analysis, based on the "Regulations on Safety Production and Operation of Fireworks and Firecrackers," it is prohibited to store excessive or overtime quantities of chemicals, semi-finished products, and finished products in transit warehouses. Therefore, it is speculated that the factory was in production at the time of the explosion, because if "on-site personnel are off work or on holiday, all semi-finished products must be cleared out."
In addition, China's latest national standard for "Fireworks and Firecrackers Safety and Quality" was officially implemented on May 1st, for the first time incorporating classification, grading, safety requirements, packaging marks, and other content into a single standard. The aforementioned Liuyang fireworks industry professional introduced that the new standard has very high safety requirements, which has led many local distributors to adopt a wait-and-see approach after the Spring Festival in 2026, waiting for some larger fireworks and firecrackers manufacturers to first produce products that meet the standards.
Liuyang is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Firecrackers," gathering 431 fireworks and firecrackers production enterprises, accounting for about 60% of the market share in China. The total output value of the city's firecrackers industry chain exceeded RMB 50.5 billion (approximately NT$232 billion) in 2025. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150506
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(Central News Agency reporter Liao Wen-chi, Shanghai, 6th) An explosion occurred at a fireworks and firecrackers factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China, on the 4th, resulting in 26 deaths and 61 injuries. Mainland media pointed out that many of this firecracker factory's products are sold to European and American markets, and it had been fined for violations in February this year. Industry professionals speculate that the factory was in production at the time of the explosion.
Mainland media Southern Weekend reported on the 5th that, according to "Qichacha" information, the involved enterprise in this explosion, "Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Pyrotechnics Co., Ltd.," was established in 2000. Its business scope is mainly fireworks and firecrackers production, and its legal representative is Hu Zhengping.
Huasheng Fireworks was administratively penalized on February 5th this year for violating the "Hunan Province Administrative Penalty Discretionary Standards for Safety Production (2022 Edition)" by failing to equip and train (individual) civilian explosive information registrars according to standards.
Public information also shows that the controlling shareholder of Huasheng Fireworks Company is "Hunan Liuyang Firecrackers Co., Ltd." Hunan Firecrackers was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada on June 29, 2009, and was hailed as "the first overseas listed enterprise in China's firecrackers industry." Its products are mainly sold to the United States and European markets.
The report quoted a Liuyang fireworks and firecrackers industry professional as saying that fireworks and firecrackers production is a high-risk industry. Every year from June to July, Liuyang local authorities, for safety considerations, require factories to take a "high-temperature holiday" until the high-temperature holiday ends in September. Only after the local emergency management department issues a notice and manufacturers meet production standards can production resume.
The director of a fireworks factory in Liuyang stated that even if domestic sales factories are rushing orders, they would still take 1 to 3 days off during the May Day holiday. However, export manufacturers might need to rush orders during holidays. During the high-temperature holiday, "domestic sales factories are all shut down," but there might be some special policies for foreign trade manufacturers.
According to an anonymous Hunan fireworks manufacturer's analysis, based on the "Regulations on Safety Production and Operation of Fireworks and Firecrackers," it is prohibited to store excessive or overtime quantities of chemicals, semi-finished products, and finished products in transit warehouses. Therefore, it is speculated that the factory was in production at the time of the explosion, because if "on-site personnel are off work or on holiday, all semi-finished products must be cleared out."
In addition, China's latest national standard for "Fireworks and Firecrackers Safety and Quality" was officially implemented on May 1st, for the first time incorporating classification, grading, safety requirements, packaging marks, and other content into a single standard. The aforementioned Liuyang fireworks industry professional introduced that the new standard has very high safety requirements, which has led many local distributors to adopt a wait-and-see approach after the Spring Festival in 2026, waiting for some larger fireworks and firecrackers manufacturers to first produce products that meet the standards.
Liuyang is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Firecrackers," gathering 431 fireworks and firecrackers production enterprises, accounting for about 60% of the market share in China. The total output value of the city's firecrackers industry chain exceeded RMB 50.5 billion (approximately NT$232 billion) in 2025. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150506
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news in real-time.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.