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Boiler blast at NE China factory kills two, injures one

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-10 19:31

HARBIN -- Two people were killed and one was injured when a bean curd factory boiler exploded early Tuesday in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The blast occurred at about 8 a.m. at the plant in Tuanjie Township in the Daowai district of Harbin, the provincial capital, said Xiao Weixing, a district safety official.

One of the dead was a 57-year-old worker in charge of the steam boiler, while the other was a middle-aged woman yet to be identified.

A coal transport worker was injured and hospitalized for treatment, but the injuries were not life-threatening, the official said.

The factory owner was out of town but was returning to handle the accident.

The boiler passed a safety check last May, Xiao said, and the cause of the explosion was under investigation.