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EXPLOSION-CHINA
Seven killed in blast at electronics factory in east China
BEIJING, March 31, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An explosion at a electronics
component manufacturer in east China on Sunday killed seven and injured five
others, local authorities said.
The blast happened when a container for storing scrap metal burst into
flames outside a factory in an export processing zone in Kunshan, Jiangsu
province, the local government said on its official WeChat social media
account.
“The cause of the accident outside Kunshan Waffer Technology Corp. Ltd. is
still under investigation,” the statement said.
The fire from the storage unit spread to a nearby factory workshop, it
added, while one of the five people injured was in a critical condition.
The incident comes barely a week after one of China’s worst recent
industrial accidents, in which an explosion at a chemical plant in the same
province killed 78 people and injured hundreds.
The powerful explosion in the eastern city of Yancheng toppled several
buildings in the industrial park, blew out windows of nearby homes and even
dented metal garage doors.
It prompted the State Council, China’s cabinet, to order a nationwide
inspection of chemical firms including risk assessments to identify safety
hazards.
Deadly industrial accidents are common in China, where safety regulations
are often poorly enforced.
In November, a gas leak at a plant in the northern Chinese city of
Zhangjiakou, which will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, killed 24 people and
injured 21 others.
Leaked chloroethylene came in contact with a fire source causing the
explosion, authorities said in a February report, which also claimed the
Chinese chemical firm responsible for the accident had concealed information
and misled investigators.
And in 2015, China saw one of its worst industrial accidents when giant
chemical blasts in the northern port city of Tianjin killed at least 165
people.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1242 hrs