At least 25 dead after cargo ship catches fire in China

What the report says

At least 25 people have died after a cargo ship caught fire while it was docked in Qingdao, a major port city on China’s northeastern coast, according to state media cited by Al Jazeera. The incident took place at the Beihai Shipbuilding Company in the port, where the vessel was undergoing repairs when the blaze began at about 11:15am local time on Thursday.

Chinese broadcaster CCTV said 42 people were on board the foreign-flagged ship when the fire broke out. Twelve people were evacuated safely, and five others were taken to hospital with injuries and were reported to be in stable condition. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, and the reports did not say whether the blaze had been fully extinguished.

A photo released by Xinhua identified the ship as the Ocean Melody, which is listed as sailing under a Liberian flag by the vessel-tracking website VesselFinder. China’s leadership responded by ordering urgent search-and-rescue work and calling for injured people to receive medical care.

The case highlights the risks faced by crews and workers at busy industrial ports, especially during repair operations. More broadly, shipyard and dockside fires can create serious safety hazards because of fuel, machinery and confined working conditions, but Al Jazeera’s report did not provide details on the cause or broader consequences of this incident.