Society

Death toll rises to 7 after chemical plant blast

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-23 22:00

GUIYANG - The death toll from a chemical plant blast in Southwest China's Guizhou Province rose to seven Friday after a worker died of severe burns in hospital, local authorities said.

Related readings:  Chemical plant blast kills five, injures four  Chemical additive in McNuggets within limits  Somali pirates seize chemical tanker in Red Sea  China's chemical giant eye's world top spot

The worker died at around 1:20 pm Friday. Another severely burnt worker died in the hospital late Thursday.

An explosion ripped through the Yihua Chemical Co. Ltd. factory in Xingyi in the Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qianxinan at about 9 am Thursday, killing five people instantly.

"The explosion occurred when workers were repairing chemical pipelines," said Chen Gang, director of the prefectural government's emergency response office.

An investigation showed the explosion was caused by a leak of gases, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and nitrogen, a Qianxinan prefectural government spokesman said.

Three of the four workers being treated in hospital are in critical conditions, with 80 to 90 percent of their skin suffering burns, said the spokesman.

"We have the best medical staff in the province working around the clock to save them. Experts from Beijing are also being flown in," he said.