The death toll in a blast at a chemical plant in an eastern Chinese city has reached 47, with 640 others injured, local authorities said Friday.
The explosion Thursday at the plant in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, around 300 kilometers from Shanghai, is likely one of the worst industrial accidents in China in recent years.
[Caixin Media/VCG/Getty/Kyodo]
The blast was caused by a fire ignited by an organic chemical and highly flammable compound at the factory, the authorities said. It shattered the windows of nearby residential houses and schools.
The company running the chemical plant was established in 2007. It had been previously punished by officials for repeatedly flouting environmental regulations over waste disposal, according to Chinese media.
