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)