At least 20 people have died and five others are missing when a cargo ship caught fire at a Chinese port, said Chinese state media today. The deadly incident took place at Qingdao, one of the main port cities located in eastern China, on Thursday, September 10, 2026.
The ship, named Ocean Melody, was docked at Beihai Shipbuilding Co. for repairs when the fire erupted. The ship was not in the middle of an active cargo voyage at the time of the fire, the report said.
According to Xinhua and the Associated Press’s report, about 42 people were aboard the vessel when the fire took place. Twelve people were evacuated from the ship when the fire occurred and five people were rescued as of now, while five others were not found alive and were still missing, according to Xinhua.
#BREAKING At least 20 people were killed and five remain missing after a cargo ship caught fire while docked at a Chinese port, AP reported citing state media. @AP @XHNews #China #CargoShip #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/7zPeWckiDq
— jarvis ☠️ (@Vishii14) September 10, 2026
At the time of repairs, Ocean Melody caught fire.
The Ocean Melody sails under the Liberian flag and was undergoing repair work at the shipbuilding facility in Qingdao.
The cause of the fire was not yet clear. Emergency rescue operations were launched after the fire was reported and teams were out to find the missing people.
It has raised safety issues in ship repair and maintenance. Investigators are looking into how the fire started and whether safety procedures were breached.
Rescue Operations Underway
Chinese authorities launched rescue efforts following the incident. Chinese President Xi Jinping issued directives to rescue those who were missing by early efforts, according to state media reports.
Emergency teams are at the shipyard and trying to get at the cause of it and search for the missing people. The five missing people were still the focus of rescue operations as officials tried to understand the full nature of the tragedy.
Big maritime tragedy in China
Qingdao is one of China’s major maritime and industrial centres and as a result a large number of shipbuilding, repair and cargo handling activities are undertaken in this city. A serious accident at a facility such as this in the presence of workers, vessels and industrial equipment can be extremely dangerous.
The fire is to be thoroughly investigated, authorities said. The investigation could help to determine if the incident was due to equipment failure, an accident during repair work, or another cause.
The confirmed death toll is at least 20, five of which are missing and 12 have been evacuated safely from the vessel, the report said.
