Nine people missing after a blast in an explosives plant in
Zhaoyuan, a city in east China's
Shandong Province on Saturday, have been confirmed dead,
bringing the total number of deaths in the incident to 29.
The blast occurred at a packing workshop of No.761 Explosives Co
Ltd in Liuxian Village at 7:05 PM Saturday when 31 employees were
working at the site. Twenty were killed instantly and two others
were injured and hospitalized. These two injured were in stable
condition, a hospital source said.
The cause of the explosion is?still under
investigation.
Established in 1976, the explosives plant, a privately-owned
share-holding business, employs 600 workers. The plant produces
15,000 tons of explosives annually and sells it to nearby mines.
Zhaoyuan is a major gold production?base in China, which uses
large amounts of explosives annually.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2006)