State media says at least 6 people killed in explosion at plastics factory in eastern China

Chinese factory blast kills 6

BEIJING — A powerful blast likely caused by a gas leak rocked a plastics factory in eastern China on Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring hundreds, state media reported.

The explosion happened about 10 a.m. in downtown Nanjing, the capital of’ Jiangsu province in eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xinhua said six people were reported as dead at hospitals treating victims of the blast, and that buildings and vehicles with 100 meters (yards) of the blast were badly damaged.

Officials who answered telephone calls at the Nanjing health department and city government would not comment. An official from the local Communist Propaganda Department said a statement would be released later.

Xinhua originally said 100 people had been taken to hospital, but later cited local media as saying more than 300 people had been hospitalized and that 50 of them were in serious condition.

It said an initial investigation showed that the blast was caused by a gas leak from a pipe in the plant.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control four hours after the blast, Xinhua said. It said passengers on a passing bus were also injured. Xinhua quoted local residents as saying they thought there was an earthquake when the blast happened.

Accidents are common in China’s safety-lax factories, with fires, explosions and other problems killing thousands of people each year.

Xinhua said local hospitals were evacuating rooms to make room for the injured, and that hospitals had almost run out of blood for transfusions.