[ Explosion ripped through a factory in Nanjing - NTDTV ]
An explosion in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province yesterday was reported to have killed 13 people. The blast shattered windows and cut off the telecommunication system in surrounding communities. Local media were prevented from live reporting.
Sources differ on the precise time of the explosion. In a report that was later stripped from the Internet, Chen Guangbiao, chairman of Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization Co Ltd. told China National Radio that at 9:57 a.m. on July 28, a huge explosion took place at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) factory in Qixia District of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. He said the blast could be felt throughout the city, explaining that he was 300 meters (0.2 miles) away from the location of the first explosion.
Other state-run media, including Xinhua, reported that the explosion took place at 10:10 a.m. at a nearby plastics manufacturing plant.
Soon after the first blast Nanjing residents uploaded photos and comments on the Internet describing the explosion. Some people thought there had been an earthquake. In some office buildings windows were shattered and ceiling boards had come down. The powerful blast could be felt as far away as 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). Available photos show immense destruction to the factory and surrounding area.
Chen told China National Radio, “It felt like the earth trembled and the mountains shook. All glass on our heavy machinery and in many buildings in the area was shattered. In addition there was another explosion at a plastics manufacturing plant in Qixia. Polyethylene and gas pipelines run underneath the plant. I don’t know which of them had exploded, but there was a very strong odor at the scene.”
