Deadly blast rocks chemical plant in Shandong Province
Print Edition
A HUGE explosion ripped through a chemical plant in eastern China at the weekend, killing one person and injuring nine others, less than two weeks after a similar disaster at a chemical warehouse in the north.
Saturday night’s fire in Huantai in Shandong Province took about five hours to extinguish. Authorities said no contamination has been detected, Xinhua news agency reported.
The explosion occurred after a separator in the plant caught fire, the Huantai government’s publicity office said.
The victim was identified as a worker at the plant.
Windows were shattered in the village where the blast occurred and tremors could be felt up to 2 kilometers away. Some 150 firefighters and 20 fire engines were sent to the scene.
The explosion destroyed the factory belonging to Runxing Chemical, a subsidiary of the Runxing Group with 200 million yuan (US$31 million) in registered capital.
The factory produced adiponitrile, a colorless liquid that releases poisonous gases when it reacts with fire, according to Xinhua.
The privately owned company was set up in 2012 and was in a trial production phase after the completion of construction work in July.
The blast follows the August 12 explosions at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin, a port city east of Beijing.
Yesterday, Tianjin officials said the death toll in the disaster had been raised to 123 with 50 people still missing.
The cause of the Tianjin disaster is under investigation.
The warehouse, which stored sodium cyanide and other dangerous chemicals, was too close to homes and its operators may have obtained falsified safety approvals.
The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted on its website that investigations into the Tianjin blasts were continuing and that more time was needed before any conclusions could be reached.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
