Investigations are underway after a gas tank
explosion tore through a single-story factory building, killing two
people in northwest China on Tuesday.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, seven others
were injured when the blast rocked the small-scale factory that
produced foam for fruit packaging in Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region.
Six people suffered serious burns and remain in a
critical condition in a local hospital.
Local police said yesterday that the building, some
distance away from residential areas and near a state-level
highway, was almost torn down and 11 liquefied natural gas tanks
tossed into the air.
Two neighboring empty storehouses were also
affected.
Authorities dispatched six fire engines and 40
firefighters to tackle the blaze, and it took them one and half an
hour to extinguish it.
The owner has reportedly gone missing since the
accident, and a police source said "authorities are discussing how
to compensate victims."
Xinhua said more than 30 gas tanks and oxygen
cylinders were stored in the building at the time of the
explosion.
(China Daily August 11, 2005)