Industrial Accident in Guangdong: Factory Floor Breakdown Triggers Fire, Two Workers Hospitalized With Burns

Guangzhou, China— Two industrial workers were left severely injured when a factory floor suffered a structural breakdown and triggered a fire on October 21, 2025.

The accident happened at 2:30 p.m. inside a metal fabrication plant in an industrial zone. A raised steel mezzanine holding heavy coils gave way. The platform buckled, dropped two meters onto the main line, and sheared a hydraulic oil line. Oil sprayed onto hot machinery and ignited.

Workers on the ground floor ran. Two men operating a press directly under the collapse could not get clear. One was struck by falling steel and pinned at the waist. The other was thrown into burning oil and suffered extensive burns.

Plant alarms sounded. The internal fire team tried to control the flames with extinguishers but the oil fire spread fast. The city fire brigade arrived with three engines and cut power to the entire block. They used foam to smother the fire and hydraulic jacks to lift the mezzanine.

“The load was far beyond the design limit. You could see the welds had cracked earlier and were painted over,” said a worker who left the plant minutes before the collapse. He asked not to be named for fear of losing his job.

Both injured men were taken to a provincial hospital’s burn and trauma unit. Doctors said one has spinal injuries and burns over 40 percent of his body. The second has a crushed pelvis and smoke inhalation. Both are in intensive care and listed as critical.

The plant, which employs about 300 people, has been ordered to halt production. Safety inspectors sealed the workshop and seized load sheets, maintenance logs and the floor’s original construction drawings. Preliminary findings suggest unauthorized reinforcement and overloading.

Industrial accidents have risen in the region as factories push output after months of slowdown. Local labor groups said they had flagged this facility twice for unsafe mezzanine storage. Management did not respond to requests for comment.

The municipal emergency bureau said an investigation is underway. The company faces fines and possible criminal liability if negligence is confirmed. The site remains locked.