A rescuer at the site of an explosion that killed 26 people and injured 61 in Hunan’s Liuyang city has described the dangerous and extremely difficult clean-up mission amid gunpowder and sparks after he and others were wounded by secondary blasts on Tuesday morning.

An excavator operator surnamed Xiao, who volunteered to aid rescue work at the site of the initial fireworks plant blast, said he had received multiple wounds during a further explosion after scattered explosives were ignited by smouldering embers the day after Monday’s blast.

“I received a call at 5am that the government was dispatching excavators to the rescue. I felt it was my responsibility to go. I arrived at the explosion site at 6am and started digging with more than a dozen drivers,” Xiao told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.

“The air was filled with a strong burnt gunpowder smell during the rescue, and there were still sporadic sparks at the accident site.”

Xiao said his main task was to work with firefighters to remove remaining black gunpowder to reduce further risk at the explosion site.