38 killed, 2 injured in cloth manufacturing plant blaze in China's Henan

A massive fire at a cloth manufacturing plant in central China's Henan province has killed at least 38 people and injured two others, local officials said on Tuesday, the latest fatal industrial accidents to hit the country in recent years.

It took firefighters more than four hours to douse the fire that broke out on Monday at the plant in the Wenfeng district of Anyang city in Henan province, according to the city's publicity department.

Firefighters put out the fire at around 11 pm on Monday, it said.

Thirty-eight people were killed and two others were injured in the blaze, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The injured persons have been hospitalised.

Local authorities blamed the company, which mainly manufactures clothes, for carrying out operations against rules and regulations.

Preliminary investigation revealed that sparks during welding operations caused the fire, igniting cotton fabric in the factory, the municipal emergency management department said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for all-out efforts to treat the two injured in the blaze in Central China and vowed to bring those responsible for the incident to justice, official media reported.

Local fire teams sent 63 vehicles and 240 firefighters for the rescue operation. China's Ministry of Emergency Management has also dispatched a team to the scene, the state-run CGTN reported.

Police have detained some suspects for investigation.

In August 2015, over 170 people were killed and 700 injured when blasts ripped through a warehouse in Tianjin Port where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored, including around 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide.

China suffers frequent deadly fires and industrial accidents often blamed on negligence.