A firefighter recounted the rescue process as the search and rescue operation concluded after a foreign cargo ship caught fire at a shipyard in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on Thursday, resulting in 25 deaths.
Footage captured by a China Media Group (CMG) reporter on early Friday morning shows the burnt facilities and debris on three lower decks.
Nie Changbao, a firefighter, said the lower deck showed minimal signs of burn damage, with no significant scorch marks. He said clear scorch marks could be seen at the second lower deck, with most equipment damaged by fire.
The stairs to the third lower deck were extremely slippery because of water and oil and the heat made firefighting challenging, said Nie.
"We went down into the third lower deck, and as you mentioned, the temperature was very high at that time. I used a thermal imager to scan the area and it was about 85 degrees Celsius. We entered from that passage and moved downward from above. When I measured the temperature then, it wasn't very high yet, but as we went further down, the temperature kept rising," said Nie.
Nie said when the firefighters removed their air breathing apparatus, they smelled a pungent odor of diesel and oil vapor. The fire scene was filled with a strong smell and the flames were fierce.
The fire broke out at around 11:15 when the ship was undergoing maintenance at China State Shipbuilding Corporation Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., according to the municipal fire and rescue bureau.
Emergency management, fire and rescue, police, and medical departments were immediately mobilized to carry out search and rescue operations following the incident.
Rescuers have located all 25 individuals initially reported missing, but none showed signs of life.
A total of 42 people were aboard the ship. Twelve were safely evacuated, and five injured individuals were taken to the hospital, where they are in stable condition.
The blaze was extinguished at around 14:30.
The cause of the accident is now under investigation.
Firefighter recounts rescue operation after cargo ship fire in east China
