Fire Breaks Out on Historic Aircraft Carrier 'Minsk' During Refitting

A fire erupted on the retired aircraft carrier Minsk during dismantling and refitting along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province. The incident occurred in an industrial zone near Nantong city. With no casualties reported, the flames were largely extinguished by Saturday. An investigation into the fire cause is underway.

A fire erupted on the retired aircraft carrier Minsk during dismantling and refitting operations along the Yangtze River in east China's Jiangsu Province. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon within an industrial zone south of Nantong city, local authorities confirmed.

Fortunately, no casualties have been reported, and the flames were largely extinguished by Saturday. The state-run Xinhua news agency indicated that local authorities are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

The aircraft carrier 'Minsk,' which was relocated to Nantong in 2016 with plans to form part of an aircraft carrier theme park, has a storied history. After its retirement in 1995, it was sold to a South Korean company and later resold to a Chinese company that converted it into a military theme park in Shenzhen. More recently, renovations were planned to open a national defence center based on the carrier by October 1.