Thirty-eight people were murdered in a fire at a company in the Henan region of central China that dealt in chemicals and other industrial items, according to investigators, who believe that welding sparks may have been the source of the blaze.
Around 4:30 p.m., a fire ripped through a structure in the city of Anyang, injuring two further people Monday.
According to the Wenfang district authority, it took firefighters around three and a half hours to put out the flames.
According to authorities reported by the official Xinhua News Agency, one or more welders breaking safety regulations appear to have released sparks that burned cotton fabric within the building.
According to Xinhua, managers of the company and representatives of the local government were being questioned as part of the probe.
China has a history of industrial mishaps brought on by a disregard for safety precautions spurred by increased competition and aided by official corruption.
The company, Kaixinda, was described as a wholesaler of various industrial products, including chemicals.
Flames and smoke could be seen coming from what appeared to be a two-story building that was on fire on CCTV video footage.
According to the statement, more than 250 firefighters and emergency personnel were sent to the scene.
Several recent tragic occurrences in the densely populated and economically important province of Henan resulted in the detention of local leaders.
A building collapse on the outskirts of Changsha, the provincial capital, in April resulted in the arrest of five persons.
Since a devastating explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, the majority of them firefighters and police officers, the central government has promised to take more action.
Local officials were found to have been complicit in the fake registration and storage of the chemicals and in turning a blind eye to the potential hazard.
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