At least 13 people were killed and 20 others are still missing after a blast ripped through a state-run explosives manufacturing plant in east China's Shandong Province, officials said today.
The explosion took place inside a workshop of a Poly Explosives (Jinan) Co. Ltd. Plant in Caofan Township and caused the building to collapse, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Thirty-four workers were in the workshop at the time of the accident.
The search operation for the missing people is still on today while the injured are being treated in three hospitals in Zhangqiu and Jinan City, capital of Shandong Province.
Police have also launched DNA identification to help check the casualty numbers, said Liu Xinyun, director of the Jinan Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Poly Explosives (Jinan) Co. Ltd., which is now owned by the state-owned China Poly Group Corporation manufactures explosives for civilian use.
Covering an area of 163 acres, the company's plant in Caofan was a new manufacturing base with an annual output of at least 30,000 tonnes of explosives, according to the company's official website.
