13 killed in explosion at N. China chemical plant
By Wang Qingchu |
February 29, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Thirteen people have been killed and 43 injured in an explosion which ripped through a chemical factory in north China's Hebei Province yesterday morning.
The accident happened at around 9:30am at the Hebei Keeperchemical Industries Co Ltd in Zhaoxian County, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Cheng Weiqing, deputy chief of Public Security Department of the provincial capital of Shjiajiazhuang.
Zhaoxian is about 45 kilometers from Shijiazhuang.
Around 20 workers were in the workshop where the blast occurred and the injured are receiving treatment in local hospitals, Cheng said.
The blast flattened the workshop and shattered window glass within a radius of 2,000 meters.
The tremor was felt in at least three nearby villages, witnesses said.
The chemicals that triggered the blast included guanidine nitrate, a substance that can easily explode on heating and can form toxic and corrosive fumes on combustion.
The plant produces chemical substances for pesticide and for medical use.
Most of the employees are middle-aged men. The products of factory are highly toxic and it only employs married men, villagers near the factory told Xinhua.
As rescue efforts continued, the possibility of a second explosion could not be ruled out, Cheng said, but the toxic fumes were under control and wouldn't contaminate the local environment.
A total of 16 fire engines and several hundred firefighters and rescuers were rushed to the site to put out the fire and search for survivors. The factory has been cordoned off.
A special task force from Sinopec, a major petroleum company of China, was sent to handle the toxic and highly dangerous chemicals to prevent more explosions.
A woman who works in a factory next to the plant said she heard a loud bang and saw thick black fumes blanketing the sky. Several colleagues suffered cuts from flying glass.
A man in his 50s was seen wandering in the rubble, saying he was looking for his son, China New Service reported.
Local authorities said Keeperchemical Industries, a private company, also had a fire last year but there were no casualties in that incident.
The accident happened at around 9:30am at the Hebei Keeperchemical Industries Co Ltd in Zhaoxian County, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Cheng Weiqing, deputy chief of Public Security Department of the provincial capital of Shjiajiazhuang.
Zhaoxian is about 45 kilometers from Shijiazhuang.
Around 20 workers were in the workshop where the blast occurred and the injured are receiving treatment in local hospitals, Cheng said.
The blast flattened the workshop and shattered window glass within a radius of 2,000 meters.
The tremor was felt in at least three nearby villages, witnesses said.
The chemicals that triggered the blast included guanidine nitrate, a substance that can easily explode on heating and can form toxic and corrosive fumes on combustion.
The plant produces chemical substances for pesticide and for medical use.
Most of the employees are middle-aged men. The products of factory are highly toxic and it only employs married men, villagers near the factory told Xinhua.
As rescue efforts continued, the possibility of a second explosion could not be ruled out, Cheng said, but the toxic fumes were under control and wouldn't contaminate the local environment.
A total of 16 fire engines and several hundred firefighters and rescuers were rushed to the site to put out the fire and search for survivors. The factory has been cordoned off.
A special task force from Sinopec, a major petroleum company of China, was sent to handle the toxic and highly dangerous chemicals to prevent more explosions.
A woman who works in a factory next to the plant said she heard a loud bang and saw thick black fumes blanketing the sky. Several colleagues suffered cuts from flying glass.
A man in his 50s was seen wandering in the rubble, saying he was looking for his son, China New Service reported.
Local authorities said Keeperchemical Industries, a private company, also had a fire last year but there were no casualties in that incident.
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