A total of 16 people were killed in a chemical plant blast in
east China's Anhui Province on Friday. Ten bodies have been
identified and the remaining six were burnt beyond recognition.
The explosion at the Dun'an Chemical Plant in Dangtu County also
injured 24 workers who are receiving treatment in local hospitals.
Three of the injured workers remain in critical condition, the
Anhui Daily reported.
According to an initial investigation, the blast occurred on
Friday afternoon at a workshop where powder was being mixed. The
plant produces explosives used in mining operations. ?
The plant, owned by a corporation from southeast China's Zhejiang Province, has a production capacity
of over 20,000 tons of explosives per year.
It's thought there were at least four tons of explosives in the
workshop when the incident occurred. Cleanup work at the site has
been completed and the workshop was razed to the ground.
Rescuers said the work was difficult because there were
combustible materials in the plant, which might have led to further
blasts.
Vice Governor of Anhui Province Huang Haisong led the team
involved in rescue work at the scene.
Officials with the State Administration of Work Safety and the
Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense
are investigating the incident. ?
Local governments are now dealing with compensation for the
injured and the families of those who lost their lives. ?
Experts with the Anhui Provincial Department of Public
Security?said they were continuing to work to identify the
remaining dead.
The Anhui provincial government convened an urgent telephone
conference Friday evening and urged local companies to conduct work
safety checks immediately.?
Since the beginning of May several safety-related accidents have
killed 37 people in the province. This figure includes the 16 on
Friday.
The first accident occurred on May 13 in Anqing when three
miners were killed in an accident in an unlicensed coal mine.
Embarrassingly, May 13 is designated as "Safe Production Day" in
the province following a coal mine explosion in 2003 that killed 86
people.
Five days later three workers were killed at a stone workshop in
Huainan after an explosion. ?
On May 27 a landslide at a quarry in Wuwei County killed six
workmen.??
(China Daily June 19, 2006)