At least 19 people were injured in an explosion at a controversial chemical plant in the eastern Chinese Fujian province, the second such accident at the plant in nearly two years.
The explosion rocked Tenglong Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Zhangzhou) Co Ltd in the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou city yesterday evening, when an oil leak at a xylene facility caught fire, authorities said today.
Health authorities said 19 injured people are being treated in the hospital, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The fire which caused widespread destruction in the nearby areas was put off after 21 hours.
It had set off explosions in three nearby oil tanks. Local residents were evacuated and 177 fire tenders and over 800 fire fighters battled the blaze.
It was the second accident in 20 months at the same facility, which produces paraxylene (PX), a toxic industrial chemical used for making fibre and plastics.
Environmental protection authorities have dispatched more than 50 personnel to monitor the environment. Waste water has been collected and no excessive pollutants have been detected in three nearby villages.
PX plants are highly controversial in China, and proposed plants have met strong public opposition in recent years.
China's environmental minister Zhou Shengxian insisted during the country's annual parliamentary session in March that new PX projects must pass environmental impact assessments.
