Chemical Plant Blast Leaves One Dead, Three Injured in SW China County

Chemical plant blast leaves one dead, three injured in SW China county

CHONGQING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) — One person was killed and three others injured in a chemical plant blast in Dianjiang County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, on Thursday morning, a local government official confirmed.

The blast took place at around 11:00 a.m. Thursday at the No. 1 workshop of the Yingte Chemical Company of Dianjiang County. The plant mainly produces intermediate medical products, said Gao Yonglu, head of the Dianjiang County Administration for Workplace Safety Supervision.

Initial analysis shows that excess hydrogen peroxide might have led to the blast.

The three injured have been hospitalized.

The chemical plant is 8 kilometers away from the county town of Dianjiang. Warnings of benzene contamination have been placed along the banks of a local ditch. Two nearby schools have suspended classes and students are back home.

The local environmental department is monitoring the quality of the environment.