12 dead in E China plant blast

JINAN - The death toll from a blast that ripped through an explosives manufacturing plant in East China's Shandong province on Monday has climbed to 12, local government said.

The explosion, which occurred at 10:45 am inside a workshop of a plant owned by Poly Explosives (Jinan) Co., Ltd. in Caofan township, Zhangqiu city, also injured 19 people.

Thirty-four workers were in the workshop at the time of the accident that caused the building to collapse, according to a statement released by the publicity department of the Zhangqiu City government.

Eight other workers were also working near the workshop when the blast occurred.

As of Monday afternoon, 31 workers had been pulled out of the rubble, including 12 who were killed, the statement said.

Those injured workers, including two who sustained serious injuries, are being treated in local hospitals.

Search and rescue work for the missing workers is ongoing.

Poly Explosives (Jinan) Co., Ltd. is a professional manufacturer of civil explosive materials. Covering an area of 66 hectares, the company's plant in Caofan Township was a new manufacturing base with an annual output of at least 30,000 tonnes of explosives, according to information on the company's official website.