BEIJING – The death toll in a huge blast at a chemical plant in eastern China has jumped to 47, with 90 badly injured, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Many neighboring factories inside the industrial park caught fire after the explosion.
China’s earthquake administration reported a tremor equivalent to 2.2-magnitude at the time of the blast.
The death toll makes it one of the country’s worst industrial accidents in recent years.
The blast happened at about 14:50 local time (06:50 GMT) on Thursday at a plant in Yancheng, run by Tianjiayi Chemical.
According to Xinhua, a total of 640 people were sent to hospital. Many were in critical condition and dozens had severe injuries, the agency reports. (BBC)
