An explosion rocked a petrochemical plant in China’s eastern province of Shandong on Monday, killing eight people and injuring nine, state media and local government officials said.
Monday’s blast took place about an hour after midnight, triggering fires at the loading area of Linyi Jinyu Petrochemical Co. Ltd. in the Linyi Lingang economic development zone, the state news agency said.
The toll rose to eight, as authorities confirmed the deaths of seven people who had been reported missing, in addition to one death reported earlier, the local government said on its microblog.
Authorities said that nine people were injured and the fires had been put out.
In 2015, huge chemical explosions in the port city of Tianjin killed more than 170 people, prompting a vow by President Xi Jinping that the authorities would learn the lessons paid for in blood.
