CATALIST-LISTED Hengyang Petrochemical Logistics has started a lawsuit against an insurance firm over a fatal industrial blaze at the storage facility of a Chinese subsidiary in 2016.

The group filed a claim for 16.14 million yuan (S$3.21 million) in the Jingjiang People's Court on Wednesday, after talks with "relevant Chinese legal advisers", it said in an announcement.

Hengyang added that it will give updates to shareholders "as and when there are material developments" in its suit against the Taizhou branch of the People's Insurance Company of China (Property and Casualty).

The board had previously disclosed that a fire broke out on Apr 22, 2016 at the facility of subsidiary Jiangsu Deqiao Storage. One firefighter died from severe burns.

Citing an investigation report from the Taizhou city government, Hengyang later said that the accident was directly caused by a third-party contractor's safety failure during welding work on a pipeline.