Hunan Fireworks Factory: Chemicals Mixed Like Bomb Pile, Workers Reportedly Rely on Talismans for Safety
A fireworks factory explosion in Liuyang, Hunan Province, China, has killed 37 people as of May 8th. Investigations revealed chaotic management, unused anti-static facilities, haphazard mixing of chemicals, and workers reportedly relying on talismans for safety.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 14:17
- 🔍 Collected: May 9, 2026 at 14:31 (14 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 9, 2026 at 17:07 (2h 35m after Collected)
Central News
(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 9th) An explosion occurred on the 4th at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co., Ltd. in Liuyang, Hunan Province, China. As of 12:00 PM on the 8th, 37 people had died. According to state media CCTV News, Huasheng Fireworks Company had chaotic management, with anti-static facilities in the workshop accumulating dust and being out of use for a long time. Chemical agents were mixed and stored haphazardly, and workers' safety was even entrusted to talismans.
The report states that at the entrance of the Huasheng Fireworks factory, the strong shockwave from the explosion severely damaged the security room. The walls were broken beyond repair, and the clock on the wall was frozen at the moment the explosion occurred. The workshops at the accident site were almost completely collapsed, with charred vehicle wreckage everywhere, utility poles broken into several pieces, and the air filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
To the north of the factory area was Huasheng Fireworks' gunpowder production line workshop. The corridor leading to the gunpowder production workshop was severely damaged and torn apart by the explosion's shockwave. Industry insiders said that the gunpowder production line is the highest-risk area in a fireworks manufacturing enterprise and also the core key area for safety control. Each workshop entrance was marked with the workshop's purpose and explosion-proof rating. According to safety regulations, gunpowder preparation operations require a "one person, one building" work arrangement, so this area is a strictly controlled and hidden core area of a fireworks factory.
To avoid the risk of chain explosions, workshops were spaced 10 to several tens of meters apart, and isolation earth walls were set up to prevent a single explosion from triggering a series of accidents. Dozens of small workshops for filling and transferring gunpowder were distributed along the corridor. Although they were hundreds of meters away from the center of the explosion, almost all the doors of these small workshops were damaged by the explosion's shockwave.
The report states that fireworks and firecrackers are high-risk industries, and static electricity can easily induce explosions. However, the anti-static equipment in front of each chemical line workshop at Huasheng Fireworks was covered in thick dust, clearly indicating it had not been used for a long time. In multiple gunpowder transfer and weighing workshops, powder drums were haphazardly stacked, and production materials were piled chaotically on both sides of the corridor. In the weighing workshop, strong oxidant potassium perchlorate and reducing agents like silver powder were mixed and stored together, posing extremely high safety hazards.
Inside the factory area, a special symbolic pattern was posted on the door of almost every gunpowder production line workshop. Zhou Zhiming, Secretary-General of the Liuyang Fireworks and Firecracker Association, stated that enterprises and workers would post talismans for safety, "It's also a psychological comfort. Hoping that Bodhisattva will bless them with safety. However, this safety definitely cannot rely solely on Bodhisattva's blessings; it must still rely on management."
Local relevant departments have implemented comprehensive closed management and control over the gunpowder production line workshop area of the involved enterprise, simultaneously transferring residual gunpowder and various dangerous materials from the site to strictly prevent secondary safety accidents.
The report cited public information stating that from 2019 to the present, safety accidents in the Liuyang fireworks industry have occurred year after year, and safety supervision loopholes have long existed. According to previous reports, Huasheng Fireworks was repeatedly found to have safety hazards but was never thoroughly rectified. The most recent instance was in January this year, when the company was fined RMB 15,000 for mixing oxidants and reducing agents. The low cost of illegal activities made it difficult to form an effective deterrent, ultimately leading to the explosion and casualties.
According to statistics, Liuyang City currently has 431 fireworks and firecracker production enterprises, with 658 actual production sites, and a total of more than 70,000 monitoring devices deployed. However, the number of online monitoring personnel in Liuyang City is limited, making it difficult to fully review the massive amount of monitoring footage, thus rendering online supervision a mere formality. In addition, monitoring storage equipment is all placed inside the production enterprises, making it difficult for regulatory authorities to retrieve complete monitoring records, which obstructs accident tracing and evidence collection.
In addition to online monitoring, local regulatory departments conduct regular on-site inspections, but grassroots supervision generally faces challenges such as limited personnel, many factories, and incomplete supervision coverage. The person in charge of the involved enterprise has currently been legally controlled.
Zhou Zhiming, Secretary-General of the Liuyang Fireworks and Firecracker Association, stated that preliminary investigations indicate that this explosion accident occurred in a semi-finished product workshop without exposed gunpowder. The cause of the accident is very likely related to illegal and non-compliant behaviors explicitly prohibited by the industry, such as "three excesses and one change" (exceeding scope, exceeding personnel, exceeding chemical quantity, and unauthorized change of workshop use). "I believe the cause of the accident is closely related to these. If these three points were not violated, such a major accident would not have occurred." (Edited by: Zhou Huiying / Chen Kaiyu) 1150509
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "Firsthand News" APP to grasp the latest information in real-time.
Reproduction, public broadcasting, public transmission, and utilization of the text, images, and videos on this website are prohibited without authorization.
(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 9th) An explosion occurred on the 4th at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co., Ltd. in Liuyang, Hunan Province, China. As of 12:00 PM on the 8th, 37 people had died. According to state media CCTV News, Huasheng Fireworks Company had chaotic management, with anti-static facilities in the workshop accumulating dust and being out of use for a long time. Chemical agents were mixed and stored haphazardly, and workers' safety was even entrusted to talismans.
The report states that at the entrance of the Huasheng Fireworks factory, the strong shockwave from the explosion severely damaged the security room. The walls were broken beyond repair, and the clock on the wall was frozen at the moment the explosion occurred. The workshops at the accident site were almost completely collapsed, with charred vehicle wreckage everywhere, utility poles broken into several pieces, and the air filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
To the north of the factory area was Huasheng Fireworks' gunpowder production line workshop. The corridor leading to the gunpowder production workshop was severely damaged and torn apart by the explosion's shockwave. Industry insiders said that the gunpowder production line is the highest-risk area in a fireworks manufacturing enterprise and also the core key area for safety control. Each workshop entrance was marked with the workshop's purpose and explosion-proof rating. According to safety regulations, gunpowder preparation operations require a "one person, one building" work arrangement, so this area is a strictly controlled and hidden core area of a fireworks factory.
To avoid the risk of chain explosions, workshops were spaced 10 to several tens of meters apart, and isolation earth walls were set up to prevent a single explosion from triggering a series of accidents. Dozens of small workshops for filling and transferring gunpowder were distributed along the corridor. Although they were hundreds of meters away from the center of the explosion, almost all the doors of these small workshops were damaged by the explosion's shockwave.
The report states that fireworks and firecrackers are high-risk industries, and static electricity can easily induce explosions. However, the anti-static equipment in front of each chemical line workshop at Huasheng Fireworks was covered in thick dust, clearly indicating it had not been used for a long time. In multiple gunpowder transfer and weighing workshops, powder drums were haphazardly stacked, and production materials were piled chaotically on both sides of the corridor. In the weighing workshop, strong oxidant potassium perchlorate and reducing agents like silver powder were mixed and stored together, posing extremely high safety hazards.
Inside the factory area, a special symbolic pattern was posted on the door of almost every gunpowder production line workshop. Zhou Zhiming, Secretary-General of the Liuyang Fireworks and Firecracker Association, stated that enterprises and workers would post talismans for safety, "It's also a psychological comfort. Hoping that Bodhisattva will bless them with safety. However, this safety definitely cannot rely solely on Bodhisattva's blessings; it must still rely on management."
Local relevant departments have implemented comprehensive closed management and control over the gunpowder production line workshop area of the involved enterprise, simultaneously transferring residual gunpowder and various dangerous materials from the site to strictly prevent secondary safety accidents.
The report cited public information stating that from 2019 to the present, safety accidents in the Liuyang fireworks industry have occurred year after year, and safety supervision loopholes have long existed. According to previous reports, Huasheng Fireworks was repeatedly found to have safety hazards but was never thoroughly rectified. The most recent instance was in January this year, when the company was fined RMB 15,000 for mixing oxidants and reducing agents. The low cost of illegal activities made it difficult to form an effective deterrent, ultimately leading to the explosion and casualties.
According to statistics, Liuyang City currently has 431 fireworks and firecracker production enterprises, with 658 actual production sites, and a total of more than 70,000 monitoring devices deployed. However, the number of online monitoring personnel in Liuyang City is limited, making it difficult to fully review the massive amount of monitoring footage, thus rendering online supervision a mere formality. In addition, monitoring storage equipment is all placed inside the production enterprises, making it difficult for regulatory authorities to retrieve complete monitoring records, which obstructs accident tracing and evidence collection.
In addition to online monitoring, local regulatory departments conduct regular on-site inspections, but grassroots supervision generally faces challenges such as limited personnel, many factories, and incomplete supervision coverage. The person in charge of the involved enterprise has currently been legally controlled.
Zhou Zhiming, Secretary-General of the Liuyang Fireworks and Firecracker Association, stated that preliminary investigations indicate that this explosion accident occurred in a semi-finished product workshop without exposed gunpowder. The cause of the accident is very likely related to illegal and non-compliant behaviors explicitly prohibited by the industry, such as "three excesses and one change" (exceeding scope, exceeding personnel, exceeding chemical quantity, and unauthorized change of workshop use). "I believe the cause of the accident is closely related to these. If these three points were not violated, such a major accident would not have occurred." (Edited by: Zhou Huiying / Chen Kaiyu) 1150509
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "Firsthand News" APP to grasp the latest information in real-time.
Reproduction, public broadcasting, public transmission, and utilization of the text, images, and videos on this website are prohibited without authorization.