<p>Thirty-eight people were killed and two were injured in a fire at a factory in central <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/china" target="_blank">China</a>, state media said Tuesday, with authorities blaming workers for illegal welding.</p>.<p>The fire broke out at a plant in Anyang City in Henan Province on Monday afternoon, news agency <em>Xinhua </em>reported.</p>.<p>Rescue services first received reports of a fire at 4:22 pm (0822 GMT) at Anyang Kaixinda Trading Co., Ltd, according to state media.</p>.<p>"After receiving the alarm, the municipal fire rescue detachment immediately dispatched forces to the scene," state broadcaster <em>CCTV </em>said.</p>.<p>It added that the fire was extinguished by around 11 pm local time.</p>.<p>Footage from the scene shared by <em>CCTV </em>showed thick plumes of black smoke from the fire, with at least two trucks in position to battle the flames.</p>.<p>In addition to the dead, two were sent to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the state-run <em>People's Daily </em>said.</p>.<p>Authorities said "criminal suspects" had been taken into custody in connection with the fire.</p>.<p><em>CCTV </em>then reported, citing local officials, that a preliminary investigation had found the fire was caused by "electric welding in which workers violated safety measures."</p>.<p>According to data provider Tianyancha, Anyang Kaixinda Trading Co. is a wholesale trader dealing in machinery, building materials, non-hazardous chemicals, clothing and fire-fighting equipment.</p>.<p>Industrial accidents are common in China due to weak safety standards and corruption among officials tasked with enforcing them.</p>.<p>News of the Anyang City fire followed reports of an explosion at a chemical factory in nearby Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, on Monday.</p>.<p>Videos posted on social media showed a fire at the industrial site spewing dense grey smoke into the sky.</p>.<p>Other images showed nearby buildings strewn with shards of glass and frightened locals fleeing the blast.</p>.<p>"Personnel were dispatched to the scene, the fire was extinguished, and the human toll is not yet known," Dahebao -- an official daily based out of neighbouring Henan -- reported on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, citing authorities.</p>.<p>In June, one person was killed and another injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in Shanghai.</p>.<p>The fire at a Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. plant in the outlying Jinshan district sent thick clouds of smoke over a vast industrial zone as three fires blazed in separate locations, turning the sky black.</p>.<p>And last year, a gas blast killed 25 people and reduced several buildings to rubble in the central city of Shiyan.</p>.<p>In 2015, a giant explosion in northern Tianjin at a chemical warehouse killed 165 people, in one of China's worst-ever industrial accidents.</p>
<p>Thirty-eight people were killed and two were injured in a fire at a factory in central <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/china" target="_blank">China</a>, state media said Tuesday, with authorities blaming workers for illegal welding.</p>.<p>The fire broke out at a plant in Anyang City in Henan Province on Monday afternoon, news agency <em>Xinhua </em>reported.</p>.<p>Rescue services first received reports of a fire at 4:22 pm (0822 GMT) at Anyang Kaixinda Trading Co., Ltd, according to state media.</p>.<p>"After receiving the alarm, the municipal fire rescue detachment immediately dispatched forces to the scene," state broadcaster <em>CCTV </em>said.</p>.<p>It added that the fire was extinguished by around 11 pm local time.</p>.<p>Footage from the scene shared by <em>CCTV </em>showed thick plumes of black smoke from the fire, with at least two trucks in position to battle the flames.</p>.<p>In addition to the dead, two were sent to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the state-run <em>People's Daily </em>said.</p>.<p>Authorities said "criminal suspects" had been taken into custody in connection with the fire.</p>.<p><em>CCTV </em>then reported, citing local officials, that a preliminary investigation had found the fire was caused by "electric welding in which workers violated safety measures."</p>.<p>According to data provider Tianyancha, Anyang Kaixinda Trading Co. is a wholesale trader dealing in machinery, building materials, non-hazardous chemicals, clothing and fire-fighting equipment.</p>.<p>Industrial accidents are common in China due to weak safety standards and corruption among officials tasked with enforcing them.</p>.<p>News of the Anyang City fire followed reports of an explosion at a chemical factory in nearby Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, on Monday.</p>.<p>Videos posted on social media showed a fire at the industrial site spewing dense grey smoke into the sky.</p>.<p>Other images showed nearby buildings strewn with shards of glass and frightened locals fleeing the blast.</p>.<p>"Personnel were dispatched to the scene, the fire was extinguished, and the human toll is not yet known," Dahebao -- an official daily based out of neighbouring Henan -- reported on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, citing authorities.</p>.<p>In June, one person was killed and another injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in Shanghai.</p>.<p>The fire at a Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. plant in the outlying Jinshan district sent thick clouds of smoke over a vast industrial zone as three fires blazed in separate locations, turning the sky black.</p>.<p>And last year, a gas blast killed 25 people and reduced several buildings to rubble in the central city of Shiyan.</p>.<p>In 2015, a giant explosion in northern Tianjin at a chemical warehouse killed 165 people, in one of China's worst-ever industrial accidents.</p>