Relatives of the 22 people who died in Friday's chemical plant
blast in east China's Jiangsu Province will receive at least 200,000
yuan (about US$25,000) in compensation for each victim.
Twenty-one of the 22 bodies were cremated Sunday morning. The
family of the other fatality are not in Sheyang County where the
chemical plant is located, said Han Qinghua, vice secretary-general
of the Jiangsu provincial government.
At around 8:45 AM on Friday a chemical reactor exploded during a
test run at the Fuyuan Chemical Co. Ltd., a Sino-German joint
venture, in Linhai Township of Sheyang County. The plant, which had
not begun production, was going to produce fluoro benzene for
industrial purposes.
Local workplace safety officials said 71 people were inside the
plant when the accident happened and 21 managed to escape.
The blast flattened two workshops and left 22 people dead and 28
others injured. It also forced the temporary evacuation of more
than 7,000 local residents who have now returned to their
homes.
"The accident has had a terrible impact on local people's lives
and property,” Han said. ”It's shocking."
Thirty-five drums on site containing chlorine and nitric acid
escaped damage and tests of air and water around the plant show
there's no serious pollution.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the cause of the
accident may have been worker error or a problem inside the
reactor.
There was no clear evidence yet, said Sun Huashan, deputy
director of the State Administration of Work Safety. He urged local
authorities to investigate the company's management.
"This is a rare, fatal occurrence in the chemical industry but
all chemical businesses across China must learn profound lessons
from this disaster," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2006)
