Chinese police probes power plant explosion

Chinese police today questioned the owner of a power plant in central Hubei Province where21 people were killed and five others injured after a high- pressure steam pipe exploded at the facility.
DNA tests will be conducted to identify the bodies of 21 people, aged between 22 and 51 years, killed in the explosion at Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. In Dangyang City yesterday, local authorities said.
Chinese police today questioned the owner of the plant.
The power plant and its neighbouring companies have been closed and a work safety overhaul has been launched in the city, state-run news agency Xinhua reported today.

Four of the injured were transferred to the provincial capital Wuhan by helicopter for treatment.
The blast occurred when workers were testing a newly-built thermo-power facility.

The blast was the result of a high-pressure steam pipe bursting, preliminary investigations showed, Xinhua said.
Ma Xuming, mayor of Yichang City, said several work groups were established to handle rescue, investigation and to comfort relatives of the victims.
The State Administration of Work Safety has sent a work group to oversee the rescue operation and conduct a probe.
Du Qiuxin, a villager who lives about one kilometer from the plant, said there was a loud bang when the blast occurred. "I rushed out to check what happened. The area was quickly sealed off and many police and firemen came," she said.

The plant started operation this year and its facilities are still undergoing testing, authorities said.
The power plant was built by the Huaqiang chemical plant along with other companies, according to an employee of the Huaqiang chemical plant, who declined to be named.
The fatal blast left a trail of destruction, with distorted pipes, wires and window panes, shattered computer screens in the control room, and a few helmets of workers and their clothes strewn on the ground.
One of the critically injured, surnamed Liu, 32, is receiving treatment at the Dangyang People's Hospital. He had worked for the Huaqiang chemical plant for nine years.

"He began the work at the power plant just a month ago. It is a huge blow to the family. His father died last year and his daughter is only eight years old," Liu's uncle said.