Beijing, April 15: At least nine people have been killed after an explosion followed by a huge fire wrecked a chemical plant in China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang.
The incident occurred at 10:10 p.m. local time (1310 GMT) on Wednesday at a three-storey building at Fuxin Chemical Plant in Lamadian Town of Daqing City.
Nine workers died on the scene while five others managed to leave the building, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
Firefighters were mobilized to the site to put out the fire. Ambulances also shifted the dead bodies as well as those wounded to nearby hospitals.
Local safety authorities said the main reason behind the explosion was the accumulation of gas due to poor ventilation in the plant.
Fuxin Chemical Plant, which covered 11,000 square meters and employed 34 workers, was functioning without a license.
Its operator, Cui Dehai, has been arrested as police is engaged in conducting a full investigation into the deadly incident.
Most accidents in China are blamed on failures to follow safety regulations, including a lack of required ventilation or fire control equipment.
——-Agencies