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At least 20 people have died and five remain missing after a foreign cargo ship caught fire at a shipyard in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday, according to state media. The vessel was undergoing maintenance work when the fire broke out at around 11 am local time.

The blaze was extinguished by about 2:30 pm, Xinhua reported. A total of 42 people were aboard the vessel, with 12 safely evacuated and five injured people taken to hospital in stable condition, according to the Associated Press, citing Xinhua.

Thick Smoke Seen Coming From Vessel

A witness told AFP that he saw thick smoke coming from the ship. “I saw the smoke from the ship by chance, but there was no visible fire,” the witness said, adding that he neither heard an explosion nor smelled anything unusual.

A photograph released by Xinhua reportedly identified the vessel as the Ocean Melody. Reuters, citing LSEG ship-tracking data, identified it as a Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier that was around 20 years old.

‘Ocean Melody’ Had Been At Shipyard Since August 31

According to the ship-tracking data cited by Reuters, the vessel arrived at the Qingdao shipyard on August 31 and had remained there since. The shipyard is controlled by state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

The Ocean Melody is reportedly 623 feet long, according to MarineTraffic. The circumstances that led to the fire were not immediately detailed in the reports.

Following the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued “important instructions” calling for rescue efforts to locate those still missing aboard the ship, Xinhua reported. Xi also called for “preventive measures” to be thoroughly implemented.

The Chinese President further called for efforts to “resolutely prevent major and catastrophic accidents”. The cause of the fire and the identities of those killed or missing were not immediately disclosed in the reports.

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