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Explosion Rocks Industrial Zone in Eastern China, Killing 47 Explosion Rocks Industrial Zone in Eastern China, Killing 47
(about 1 hour later)
HONG KONG — An explosion Thursday afternoon at a chemical plant in eastern China killed at least 47 people, state media said Friday morning. HONG KONG — An explosion Thursday afternoon at a chemical plant in eastern China killed at least 47 people, the state media said Friday morning.
The blast in Xiangshui County in Jiangsu Province sent a fireball and thick plumes of black smoke into the air and raised concerns about chemical contamination in the area. The China Earthquake Administration reported a magnitude 2.2 earthquake at 2:48 p.m. that was believed to have been caused by the explosion. The blast, in Xiangshui County in Jiangsu Province, sent a fireball and thick plumes of black smoke into the air and raised concerns about chemical contamination in the area. The China Earthquake Administration reported a magnitude-2.2 earthquake at 2:48 p.m. that was believed to have been caused by the explosion.
In addition to the 47 killed, at least 90 people were seriously injured in the explosion at the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co., CCTV, the state broadcaster, reported Friday. Videos circulating online showed people who appeared to have been cut by glass and other debris. In addition to the 47 killed, at least 90 people were seriously injured in the explosion at the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Company, CCTV, the state broadcaster, reported Friday. Videos circulating online showed people who appeared to have been cut by glass and other debris.
One resident who lives about 6 miles from the plant said the explosion awakened him from an afternoon nap. “The road is filled with injured people,” the resident, who would only give his surname, Chen, said Thursday afternoon. “Glass doors and windows have all been shaken out and the poorer houses are so damaged they are uninhabitable. The old people and children in my family have all been cut by glass shards.” One resident who lives about 6 miles from the plant said the explosion had awakened him from an afternoon nap. “The road is filled with injured people,” the resident, who would only give his surname, Chen, said Thursday afternoon.
“Glass doors and windows have all been shaken out and the poorer houses are so damaged they are uninhabitable,” he said. “The old people and children in my family have all been cut by glass shards.”
Some residents are fleeing out of fear that the air could be toxic, he said.
Officials have not disclosed a cause of the blast, but one worker told Caixin, a Chinese business news outlet, that a tanker truck carrying natural gas had caught fire, setting off an explosion in a benzene storage area.
Rescuers told about 3,000 workers and close to 1,000 residents to evacuate the area on Thursday.
The plant mainly produces pesticides, according to online listings. The State Administration of Work Safety listed 13 safety problems at the plant after an inspection last year, including a lack of safety training among management.The plant mainly produces pesticides, according to online listings. The State Administration of Work Safety listed 13 safety problems at the plant after an inspection last year, including a lack of safety training among management.
Jiangsu is by far the Chinese province with the greatest production of agricultural chemicals. Over the past year, it has also been at the center of a controversy over how China should regulate chemicals production. Concerns about chemical plants in the area run deep. In 2007, a blast at a chemical plant killed seven people. In 2011, rumors that gas leaking from a plant in Xiangshui County could explode circulated among residents, causing thousands to flee. Four people were killed in a traffic accident during the late night panic.
Jiangsu Province, with some support from Beijing, has pressed for each chemical factory to reduce its pollution by a significant percentage from previous levels. That would allow some small, local companies with extremely high levels of pollution to install more modern equipment. But it would tend to penalize multinational corporations that put identical, fairly clean factories all over the world and would face very high investment costs to try to reduce their emissions much further. Jiangsu is by far the Chinese province with the greatest production of agricultural chemicals. Over the past year, it has also been at the center of a controversy over how China should regulate the production of chemicals.
Jiangsu Province, with some support from Beijing, has pressed for each chemical factory to reduce its pollution by a significant percentage. That would allow some small, local companies with extremely high levels of pollution to install more modern equipment. But it would tend to penalize multinational corporations that put identical, fairly clean factories all over the world and would face high investment costs to try to reduce their emissions much further.
Environmentalists and large companies have tended to favor the setting of low levels of maximum pollution that no factory would be allowed to exceed. But that approach could put older, local factories at a significant disadvantage.Environmentalists and large companies have tended to favor the setting of low levels of maximum pollution that no factory would be allowed to exceed. But that approach could put older, local factories at a significant disadvantage.
China has seen a series of large explosions at chemical plants in recent years. Blasts in the northeastern city of Tianjin in 2015 killed 173 people, a disaster that was blamed on weak regulations and haphazard management of explosive materials.China has seen a series of large explosions at chemical plants in recent years. Blasts in the northeastern city of Tianjin in 2015 killed 173 people, a disaster that was blamed on weak regulations and haphazard management of explosive materials.
At least 23 people were killed in an explosion near a chemical plant in Hebei Province last year.At least 23 people were killed in an explosion near a chemical plant in Hebei Province last year.