At least 30 wounded in chemical plant blasts in Jilin (Xinhua) Updated: 2005-11-13 17:28
Thick smoke rolls
up into the sky after explosions ripple through the Jilin Petroleum and
Chemical Company from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Northeast China's
Jilin Province. There are so far no casualties reported while witness said
dozens were hospitalized. [Xinhua] |
At least 30 persons were wounded in a series of blasts that occurred Sunday
afternoon in a chemical plant in northeast China's Jilin Province but there has
been no report of deaths, local authorities said.
The blasts took place at a workshop in No. 101 Chemical Plant under the Jilin
Petrochemical Company about 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday in Jilin City, some
100 km east of Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, according to rescuers. The
wounded have been hospitalized.
The blasts shattered window glasses of buildings 100 to 200 meters away from
the plant, witnesses said.
After the blasts, more than 10,000 residents have been evacuated for fear of
further explosions and pollution by chemical matters from the plant, which
produces benzene.
The site of the accident has been closed off and police are busy organizing
the evacuation of more local residents. The cause of the blasts is still under
investigation.
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