In China's Fireworks Capital, a Deadly Blast

A blast at a fireworks plant in central China has left a grim toll: at least 26 people dead and 60 or so injured, according to state media. The Monday afternoon explosion ripped through the Huasheng Fireworks facility in Hunan province's Liuyang, a city known as China's fireworks capital, per Reuters. Authorities evacuated residents within about 2 miles of the site as more than 1,500 responders, plus dogs, robots, and drones, searched the rubble and pulled seven people out alive, the BBC reports. "We feel extremely pained and deeply remorseful," local government official Chen Bozhang said to those injured and victims' families, per the AP.

Police say they've taken "control measures" against those in charge of the plant as they investigate what triggered the blast, which shattered windows in a residential building nearby, per the BBC. Two gunpowder warehouses at the site complicated rescue efforts, prompting crews to humidify the area to reduce further risk. State broadcaster CCTV said the injured range in age from 20-somethings to individuals in their 60s, with some hit by debris. President Xi Jinping called for full rescue efforts and a thorough probe. Local officials report that air and water readings near the plant remain normal, even as some residents say they've fled the area out of fear.