Chemical plant blast kills 1, injures 9 in E China

JINAN - One person was killed and nine others were injured after a blast ripped through a chemical plant in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday night, local authorities said early Sunday morning.

The explosion occurred at Shandong Runxing Chemical Technology Co. Ltd at 8:56 p.m. in Dongfu Village, Huantai County after a separator caught fire, according to the county government's publicity office.

The fire was put out at around 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, it said.

The environmental protection departments of both Zibo City and Huantai County said they have not detected any contamination after the blast.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

With a registered capital of 200 million yuan (31.3 million U.S. dollars), the blasted plant is a subsidiary of Shandong's Runxing Group. It produces chemicals, such as adiponitrile, a colorless liquid that can burn when encountering with fire. It can give off toxic fumes after decomposing on heating or burning.

The blast came 10 days after warehouse explosions in north China's Tianjin Municipality that have left 121 people dead and 54 missing.