Officials ordered the immediate shutdown of fireworks factories in Hebei province yesterday, following Monday's catastrophic explosions that flattened the Guoxi Fireworks Factory in Xinji, killing at least 29 people.
An urgent notice was distributed among government departments saying that safety inspections must be carried out immediately at all factories in the province.
The governor of Hebei, Ji Yunshi, told state media that officials were investigating the accident and officers had been deployed to close factories that did not comply with government safety standards.
An official said yesterday that 15 of the victims had been identified but that the rest could not be confirmed. Officials are still uncertain about the exact number of missing people.
Some parents of the teenage workers at the Guoxi Fireworks Factory were still looking for their missing children. Many were distraught, not knowing whether they were dead or alive.
Heavy fog and poor visibility was hampering rescue work, state media reports said. Initial investigations linked the explosions to the high summer temperatures, which caused some fireworks to self-combust and ignite gunpowder balls drying in the sun.
