Death toll in Liuyang fireworks blast rises to 37

An explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, in China's Hunan province, killed a growing number of people. The first report put the toll at at least 26. Three days later the death toll had risen to 37. Fifty-one people were injured and one person remained missing.

Liuyang is a center of China's fireworks industry, which is why a factory blast there can be large. A fireworks factory stores explosive material, so a fire can become a detonation. At least 26 was the early confirmed floor. The later figure of 37 is the updated death toll, with 51 injured and one person not yet accounted for.

A rising toll usually means people who were missing, or who were critically hurt, were later confirmed dead. The report states the rise without naming the victims. It does not give the cause beyond the explosion at the factory. It does not say how many workers were on site.

Hunan is the province and Liuyang the city. The three-day gap is the time between the first public toll and the revision to 37. One person remaining missing means the death toll could still change. Fifty-one injured is the injury count paired with the revised deaths.

Industrial explosions of this kind bring local rescue, fire crews, and a later safety investigation. None of those steps are described in the casualty update. The public record is the place, the kind of factory, and the numbers. The early at least 26 and the later 37 should be read as successive counts of the same blast, not as two explosions.

The Liuyang fireworks factory explosion has killed 37 people on the updated count. Fifty-one were injured and one person was still missing. The first reports had confirmed at least 26 deaths. The revised toll was given on May 8, three days after the blast.