At least one person was killed in a fire at a large chemical plant in the Chinese city of Shanghai
They erupted at one of the country’s largest refining and petrochemical plants around 04:00 on Saturday (20:00 GMT Friday).
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. at an ethylene glycol processing unit owned by Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, a state ]owned oil company with headquarters in the Jinshan district’s industrial park.
According to Shanghai’s fire department, rescue teams from Jinshan and Fengxian districts, as well as the city’s chemical industrial park, were dispatched to the scene.
Rescue efforts are currently underway, according to the statement.
The fire had been brought “under control” by 9 a.m. local time, according to the company.
The blaze was brought under control by firefighters according to a statement posted on the company’s Chinese social media account. Sinopec said a “third-party driver” died in the accident and one of its employees was hurt.
The specific cause is being investigated,” the company said.
In recent years, China has seen a rash of industrial accidents that have killed dozens of people, raising concerns about public safety.
At least 173 people were killed in 2015 after a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin, China’s northern port city.
Last October, a powerful explosion at a restaurant in the north-eastern city of Shenyang killed at least three people and injured more than 30 others. The gas explosion occurred in a mixed use residential and commercial structure.
Social media videos from the scene showed raging fires and massive plumes of dark smoke rising from what appeared to be a Sinopec facility separated from the district’s residential area.
According to a local media report, some residents living near the facility fled their buildings after hearing loud bangs from the explosion and describing a pungent smell from a few miles away.
The fire had been “effectively controlled,” but the company was carrying out “protective burning.”
Sinopec stated that it was monitoring the area for volatile organic compounds but had not found any that were harmful to local water supplies.
According to the company, the deceased was a “third party transport vehicle driver,” and an employee suffered minor injuries.
A resident shared aerial drone footage with AFP of thick clouds of smoke hanging overa vast industrial zone as three fires blazed in separate locations, turning the sky black
“At the moment, on-site disposal work is being carried out in an orderly manner, and protective combustion is taking place,” the Shanghai government said on social media, adding that “safety risks” were “controllable.”
“Monitoring data… indicate that air quality has largely returned to normal.”
According to local media, an early morning explosion at the petrochemical plant was heard by residents up to 6 kilometres away.
According to one witness, the tremors from the explosion caused their apartment door to shake violently.
“Half the sky was filled with red fire and thick black smoke, and there was dust and cotton-like particles floating in the air.” “According to the Chongqing-based newspaper Upstream News, the anonymous resident.
“A huge roar like a plane in flight could be heard – the sound of burning.””
