At least six people were killed and 30 injured in a blast at a chemical plant in China on Thursday. The explosion took place at a pesticide plant in eastern China’s Jiangsu province around 2 pm local time (11.30 am Indian Standard Time), the South China Morning Post reported, quoting the Yangtse Evening Post.
The blast in Yancheng shattered windows of a school and residential buildings in the vicinity. Cars parked nearby were also damaged. Many people were wounded due to the flying debris from the explosion.
Witnesses said many factory workers were seen fleeing the building, covered in blood, Xinhua reported.
As many as 41 fire trucks and 188 firefighters have been rushed to the site to douse the flames, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said, according to the South China Morning Post. It added that 31 people have been rescued from the plant.
Jiangsu officials told AFP that the cause of the blast is being investigated. The China Earthquake Administration said a magnitude 3 earthquake was detected in Jiangsu, probably due to the blast.
A blast in an iron ore mine in China’s Liaoning province had killed at least 11 people in June 2018. A blast at a chemical plant in southwest Sichuan province left 19 dead and 12 injured in July. In November, an explosion at a PVC production plant in a northern Chinese city caused by a gas leak led to the deaths of 24 people.
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