Latest news with #chemicalplant
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Terrifying moment chemical plant tank bursts into flames around worker
An explosion at a Chinese chemical plant has killed at least five people. Horrifying footage shows the gas tank going up in flames - as one worker runs for his life, trying to escape the smoke erupting from where he was standing seconds before. In a second video, a tank is seen rocketing into the air before crashing into a fireball. Over 230 firefighters rushed to the blaze in the Shandong province in China on Tuesday, where 19 were injured and six are still missing, state media said. Residents in the nearest city, Weifang, were warned they should wear face masks as officials await results of the air quality after the blast spewed out chemicals. The plant was reportedly used to manufacture pesticides and chemicals for medical use, with over 300 registered employees. The cause of the explosion remains unknown. Seconds from disaster: The man dashes across the gangway to the next tank mere moments before it goes up in flames Deaths: The explosion at the chemical plant in the Shandong province in China has killed at least five people Local farmer Yu Qianming, 69, had moved his grandchild and his wife further away as a precaution but said they would feel safe in their home as long as the wind continued to blow in a northerly direction. Liu Meng said her window frame was forced out of the wall after the blast took place only 500m away from her clothing store. The 60-year-old, who also lives in the same building, said glass had been flung into her boxes of supplies and across her store. Another resident said his property 4.3 miles away shook. Drone footage showed smoke coming from another plant nearby. The plant is being tested by the Weifang Ecological Environment Bureau but said no results were available yet. Blast: Liu Ming's window frames were blasted out of place
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
A search continues for 6 people missing after a chemical plant explosion in China
Firefighters extinguish fires at the explosion site of a chemical plant in Gaomi, in east China's Shandong Province, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Xinhua via AP) BEIJING — Rescuers searched Wednesday for six people still missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China shook nearby buildings, killing at least five people and injuring 19. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast at an industrial park in the Shandong province city of Weifang. The explosion knocked out windows of nearby buildings and spewed a thick plume of white smoke, according to videos shared on social media. Nearby residents on Wednesday were grappling with how or whether to rebuild damaged homes, while provincial authorities vowed to eliminate any further risks to ensure safety in manufacturing. Zhang Liyou, who runs a restaurant about 1 kilometer away (less than a mile away) from the explosion site, was serving lunch when the blast occurred, shattering the restaurant's windows and causing part of its ceiling paneling to collapse. Fortunately, neither him nor the handful of diners were harmed, he told The Associated Press, but the restaurant building, which also doubled as his home was covered with debris. He said he didn't know if he would reopen. 'There is no way for us to do the business anymore,' he said with a sigh. The plant was separated from a nearby village by just a wheat field less than 700 meters (about a half mile) across. Residents told a state-backed media outlet, the Paper, that the blast had warped shutter doors, cracked walls and dislodged pieces of concrete from their roofs, and that they were worried about the structural integrity of their homes. The plant is owned by Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co., a producer of pesticides and chemicals for medical use with more than 500 employees, according to corporate registration records. Local fire officials sent more than 230 personnel to the scene, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A student at a school about a kilometer away (less than a mile away) from the plant told the Paper that he heard an explosion and saw dirt-yellow smoke, tainted with redness, rising from the plant. He said there was a funny smell, and all students were given masks and told not to remove them. It was unclear if there were any lingering health impacts after the initial explosion. A staffer at the local environment bureau told The Paper that a team was dispatched to the scene to monitor potential pollution but had yet to report back. The blast came less than two weeks after the National Ministry of Emergency Management held a workshop on preventing and controlling risks in the chemical industry, as Beijing urged officials at chemical industrial parks to boost their capabilities in 'managing hazardous chemicals.' Last year, the chemical plant was cited for 'safety risks' at least twice, but in September it was praised by the Weifang Emergency Management Bureau for relying on party members to effectively manage workplace risks. Specifically, party members at Gaomi Youdao identified more than 800 safety hazards in the first eight months of 2024 and rectified all of them, the bureau said. Workplace safety has improved over the years in China but remains a stubborn problem. The National Ministry of Emergency Management recorded 21,800 incidents and 19,600 deaths in 2024. A warehouse complex storing large amounts of hazardous chemicals caught fire and exploded in Tianjin in 2015, leaving 173 dead or missing. In 2019, 78 people were killed in a blast at a chemical plant in Yancheng in China's eastern coastal province of Jiangsu. ___ Associated Press journalist Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and news researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report. The Associated Press
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Inquiry into deadly chemical plant explosion in China
NewsFeed Inquiry into deadly chemical plant explosion in China Investigators in China are working to find the cause of a powerful explosion at a chemical plant that killed five people and injured 19 more. More than 200 emergency workers responded to the blast in Shandong province, which damaged properties up to a kilometre away.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Search continues at site of deadly chemical plant blast in China
Six people are still missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China that killed at least five and injured 19 others. The blast took place on Tuesday in an industrial park in the city of Weifang, in Shandong province, shattering windows at nearby buildings and spewing a thick plume of white smoke, according to videos shared on social media. Advertisement It is not clear what caused the explosion at a plant owned by Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co, a producer of pesticides and chemicals for medical use. Records show the factory has more than 500 employees. Local fire officials sent more than 230 personnel to the scene, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A pupil at a school just under a mile away from the plant told state-run news site The Paper that he heard an explosion and saw dirt-yellow smoke, tainted with redness, rising from the plant. He said there was an unusual smell, and all students were given masks and told not to remove them. Advertisement A worker at the local environment bureau told The Paper that a team was dispatched to the scene to monitor potential pollution, but had yet to report back. The blast came less than two weeks after the National Ministry of Emergency Management held a workshop on preventing and controlling risks in the chemical industry, as Beijing urged officials at chemical industrial parks to boost their capabilities in 'managing hazardous chemicals'. Last year, the chemical plant was cited over safety risks at least twice, but in September it was praised by the Weifang Emergency Management Bureau for relying on party members to effectively manage workplace risks. Specifically, party members at Gaomi Youdao identified more than 800 safety hazards in the first eight months of 2024 and rectified all of them, the bureau said. Advertisement Workplace safety has improved over the years in China but remains a stubborn problem. The National Ministry of Emergency Management recorded 21,800 incidents and 19,600 deaths in 2024. A warehouse complex storing large amounts of hazardous chemicals caught fire and exploded in Tianjin in 2015, leaving 173 dead or missing. In 2019, 78 people were killed in a blast at a chemical plant in Yancheng in China's eastern coastal province of Jiangsu.
Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
After deadly blast at China chemical plant, residents evacuate to safety
Residents near a chemical plant in eastern China were taking stock on Wednesday of the damage to their homes after a huge and still unexplained blast killed at least five, spewed out chemicals and shattered windows as far as a kilometre away. Plumes of black and grey smoke lingered over the plant at Gaomi, a city in the eastern province of Shandong, a day after the explosion, which the official Xinhua news agency said had injured 19, with six more missing. Farmer Yu Qianming said he and his wife had moved their grandchild elsewhere as a precaution, although they felt safe in their home as long as the wind kept blowing in a northerly direction. His family had escaped without injury, the 69-year-old said, while showing Reuters roofing material that fell and windows that shattered in the blast. Local officials have yet to issue the results of air quality tests on Tuesday, after a column of orange and black smoke billowed from the plant. On Wednesday, vehicles patrolled the perimeter of the site that sprawls over more than 47 hectares (116 acres), while drone footage showed multi-storey buildings flattened by the blast. Liu Ming, a 60-year-old who lives 500 m (547 yards) away, said she was considering moving after her home and clothing store suffered extensive damage, though she did not have any firm plans yet. She showed Reuters window frames pulverised by the blast, with shards of glass strewn among boxes of thread and clothes on the floor. Several shops away, another store owner had a minor head wound from the blast, which happened while he was eating lunch. Set up in August 2019 in the Gaomi Renhe chemical park, the Shandong Youdao Chemical plant develops and makes chemicals used in pesticides and pharmaceuticals, the company said on its website, with more than 300 employees at the site. Blasts in recent years at chemical plants in China have included one in the northwest region of Ningxia in 2024 and another in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2023. In 2015, two massive explosions at warehouses of hazardous and flammable chemicals in the port city of Tianjin that killed more than 170 people and injured 700 prompted tougher laws on storage of chemicals. Another blast that year at a Shandong chemical plant killed 13.
