State media says unknown number of people killed in explosion at factory in eastern China

Powerful blast rocks plastics factory in China

BEIJING — A powerful blast rocked a plastics factory in eastern China on Wednesday, killing an unknown number of people and injuring hundreds, state media reported.

The explosion, suspected to be caused by a gas leak, happened about 10 a.m. in downtown Nanjing, the capital of’ Jiangsu province in eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xinhua said its reporters saw burned bodies being carried out of the plant, and that buildings and vehicles with 100 meters (yards) of the blast were badly damaged.

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.

Firefighters were still trying to put out the blaze nearly four hours after the blast, Xinhua said. It said passengers on a passing bus were also injured.

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