China chemical plant blast death toll rises to five

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-26 19:50

NANNING -- A total of five people died, 55 others were injured and 14 were missing after a chemical plant exploded in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region early on Tuesday, rescuers said.

A rescuer rushes to the scenes of explosions at a chemical plant in Yizhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region August 26, 2008. At lease five people have been confirmed dead and over 50 injured, with 15 others missing. The first explosion occurred at around 6 am and rescue operation is still under way. [Xinhua]

The plant is in a development zone of Yizhou City, a four-hour car drive from the regional capital of Nanning.

The fire, yet to be extinguished, was under control, said Ma Dewen, chief of the region's firefighters general squad.

He said about 11,500 people, living within 3 km of the plant, owned by Guangxi Guangwei Chemical Co., were evacuated after the explosion.

It wasn't immediately known how many people were in the plant at the time of the initial blast, at about 6 a.m., and the cause hasn't yet been established.

Environment experts rushed to the area along the Longjiang River, which abuts the plant, and started to monitor the water quality in case of poisoning.

More than 100 anti-chemical warfare professionals were dispatched to the explosion site to scrutinize if there were any explosive chemicals left.

The explosions persisted until almost 1:00 p.m. and the fire spread over 10,000 sq m, said an unidentified firefighter who participated in the rescue operation.

Investigation into the accident's cause is under way.

The plant mainly produces polyvinyl acetate (PVA, used in adhesives) calcium carbide, and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM, used in paints, adhesives and coatings).

With assets of 340 million yuan (50 million US dollars), the plant produces about 300 million yuan a year in chemical products, and its largest shareholders are state-owned companies.