Three killed in Chinese factory explosion

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-09 14:05

CHENGDU -- Three people died and five others were injured after an explosion in a feed additive factory Sunday, local authorities in Sichuan Province said Monday.

A mechanical failure occurred with the drying equipment in the process of production Sunday at a workshop of Binsheng Trading Co. Ltd. in Pengshan County, according to the local government information office.

An explosion happened at 7.55 p.m. when repairs were being carried out by technicians. The blast flattened parts of the factory building.

Two workers, a man and woman, were killed on the spot, and six others injured. Zheng Nanbin, who is in charge of the company and among the six injured, died after failing to respond to medical treatment.

Binsheng Trading Co. Ltd. is a private business based in Longmenqiao Village of Pengshan, a county to the southwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital. It is mainly engaged in producing feed additives, and has over 60 people on the payroll.

The injured were transferred to a better equipped hospital in Chengdu for further treatment Sunday night.