25 people have died in a fire on the Liberia‑flagged cargo vessel Ocean Melody, docked in Qingdao, China, according to CCTV.
The ship, a 190‑metre (623‑ft) cargo carrier, was undergoing maintenance at a Qingdao shipyard when the blaze began at about 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT) on 10 September. The fire was extinguished after roughly three hours.
Of the 42 people aboard, 17 were rescued; five of them were taken to hospitals in stable condition, CCTV reported. The cause of the fire is still unknown, although eyewitnesses described thick smoke but no explosion.
Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, have urged an “all‑out” search and rescue effort and cautioned against secondary disasters. The incident follows another shipyard explosion in Fujian that killed a rescue worker and injured 12 others a month earlier.
Qingdao is one of the world’s busiest ports and a major hub for trade in the region.
