By Phillip Broadwith
9 June 2017
Nine others injured when gas tanker exploded in loading area
Ten people have been killed and a further nine injured in an explosion at a Chinese petrochemical plant. At 1am local time on 5 June, a liquefied gas tanker exploded in the loading area of a plant owned by Linyi Jinyu Petrochemical in Shandong province, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
The explosion ignited fires in the area, which were extinguished 13 hours later. Xinhua reports that the owner of the plant has been arrested, and an investigation into the cause of the blast is underway.
The blast is that latest in a string of deadly incidents at Chinese plants, despite the government’s efforts to improve safety and regulation – particularly after the tragic explosion in Tianjin in 2015.