Three people are missing and 12 are injured after an explosion
in a pharmaceutical factory in Jiangxi Province, east China.
The explosion occurred at 3:20 PM on Tuesday at Ganhui
Pharmaceutical Chemical Industrial Co. when 15 workers carrying out
repairs in a workshop sparked a fire that caused the workshop to
collapse, according to a source with the local fire brigade.
Twelve workers were injured in the blast, including one who was
seriously injured, but most of the injured suffered only
bruising.
Ganhui Pharmaceutical Chemical Industrial Co., which specializes
in ingredients for medical use, such as nitrodiphenyl, is built on
the Ganjiang River, a tributary of Poyang Lake, China's largest
freshwater lake.
The fire was extinguished three hours later.
Since water was not used in fighting the fire, the explosion
caused no pollution to the river, said the fire fighters.
The search for the three workers buried under the rubble is
continuing.
The cause of the explosion is being investigated.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2007)