The search continues for nine people who are missing following a
blast in an explosives-making plant Saturday in Zhaoyuan, a city in
east China's
Shandong Province, rescuers said today.
The blast went off at a packing workshop of the No.761
Explosives Co Ltd in Liuxian Village at 7:05 PM on Saturday when 31
employees were at the site. Twenty were killed outright and two
others were injured and hospitalized. They are in a stable
condition, hospital sources said.
Experts from state departments were at the site continuing with
their investigation into the cause of the explosion. A large team
of firemen and workers continued searching for missing people and
collecting debris on Monday morning.
The force of the blast cut down young trees?that were 20
meters away from the explosion.
Established in 1976, the plant, a privately-owned share-holding
business, employs 600 workers. It produces 15,000 tons of
explosives annually and sells the product to nearby mines. Zhaoyuan
is a major gold production base in China, where large quantities of
explosives are used annually.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2006)