Eight people died in a traffic accident on Monday in east
China's Jiangxi
Province during thick fog, said local police.
A minibus ran into a crane driving in the opposite direction at
7:52 A.M. on Changwan highway, killing the driver and seven
passengers on the spot.
Police said the minibus was speeding and driving in the left
hand lane when fog reduced visibility to within 50 meters.
Dense fog has covered about 102,000 square kilometers of the
province, 61 percent of it, for four straight days. Visibility has
been below 500 meters in the mornings, according to the provincial
observatory.
Expressways had been closed overnight and some flights have been
delayed, but the fog is expected to clear today, the observatory
said.
In the small hours of Tuesday morning, an explosion in a Beijing
chemical plant injured seven employees, according to local
sources.
The seven workers have been sent to hospital for treatment, said
Meng Fankui, deputy manager of the plant, Beijing Hua'er Co. of
Beijing Dongfang Petrochemical Corporation. Meng said all of them
were injured by shrapnel.
Meng added that the ensuing fire has been brought under control
to prevent further blasts.
The explosion happened at 0:15 A.M. in an area containing PVC
equipment, which was destroyed in the accident. Rescue workers are
currently dealing with remaining chemicals on site and trying to
cool down the surrounding areas to prevent new explosions.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2005)