A massive explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has killed at least 47 people and injured hundreds more, some critically.
Local media has reported that 640 people are being treated in hospital for injuries, with 90 in a critical condition, according to Sky News.
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The explosion shattered windows of residential buildings in the nearby town of Duigougang, which sits opposite the chemical park on the other side of the Guanhe River. Schools were closed and nearly 1,000 residents were moved to safety as a precaution against leaks and additional explosions, Yancheng local authorities said in a statement posted to an official microblog.
A local resident told Chinese financial news site Caixin that he saw injured primary school students around a mile from his house.
“At the time of the explosion, I was almost deafened and I was terribly frightened,” said another local, who gave only her surname, Zhi.
The blast is “one of China’s worst industrial accidents in recent years”, says Time magazine.
According to Quartz, local media reports that the explosion occurred at a manufacturing facility belonging to Tianjiayi Chemical Company that uses benzene, a highly flammable chemical.
The cause of the blast is now under investigation, but “the company has been cited and fined for work safety violations in the past”, reports The Guardian, citing the China Daily newspaper.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, currently on a state visit to Italy, is demanding “all-out efforts” to rescue victims and improve safety measures, the state-run Xinhua News Agency says.
“Relief work must be well done to maintain social stability. Meanwhile, environmental monitoring and early warning should be strengthened to prevent environmental pollution as well as secondary disasters,” Xi reportedly said.
Local authorities in Jiangsu will launch widespread inspections of chemical producers and warehouses, according to an emergency notice.
The notice, published on the news site of Jiangsu Communist party, said the government would shut down any chemical firms found not to be complying with regulations on dangerous chemicals.
The Jiangsu blast is the latest in a string of deadly chemical explosions in China in recent years, the most serious of which took place at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin in 2015 and left more than 170 dead or missing.
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