An explosion at an abandoned plastics factory in Nanjing city in eastern China killed 12 people and left another 15 seriously injured, China Central Television said.
One hundred and twenty people were hospitalized after the blast at 10:15 a.m. local time today, caused by a gas leak from a pipeline running through the plant, the state broadcaster reported. It didn’t cite a source for the information. A fire at the site was under control as of 6 p.m., CCTV said.
The explosion is the country’s third major industrial accident this month, following an acid leak from Zijin Mining Group Co.’s copper and gold mines into a river in the eastern province of Fujian and an oil spill in northeastern China that had shut beaches and a port. Photographs on the official Xinhua News Agency’s website showed collapsed walls and roofing at the plant and firefighters trying to douse a blaze.
Buildings and vehicles within a 100-meter (109-yard) radius were badly damaged, Xinhua said earlier today. Houses near the plant were “flattened,” according to a report on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety. Broken glass was strewn along streets as far as 1 kilometer from the site, according to a China National Radio reporter.
People were injured by shattered glass and falling walls. A man died in hospital after the ceiling of his home collapsed onto him, according to Xinhua.
The air in the area still smells of gas, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a report, citing eye- witness accounts.
Rescuers were still combing the rubble for signs of survivors, Xinhua said. Fifteen fire-fighting vehicles and 85 soldiers were deployed, according to the report.
A gasoline service station operated by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. wasn’t “seriously” affected by the explosion, the company known as Sinopec said in an e-mailed statement. A pipeline at the factory owned by Jiangsu GPRO Group Co. had exploded, according to Sinopec.
Jiangsu GPRO is a privately held company based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, involved in petrochemical production and property development, according to the company’s website.
The figures cited by CCTV for deaths and injuries contrasted with Xinhua’s earlier numbers of at least six killed and more than 300 injured, at least 50 of them seriously.
