Over 10,000 evacuated, 70 hurt after China chemical plant blasts

BEIJING, Monday (AFP) More than 70 people were injured and more than 10,000 evacuated after seven explosions at a chemical plant in northeast China on Sunday, state media reported.

Another six people were missing after the explosions at the plant run by the Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company in Jilin city in the province of the same name. Windows of buildings 100 to 200 meters were shattered in the Sunday afternoon explosions, Xinhua news agency quoted witnesses as saying.

The plant produces benezene, a highly toxic substance, but the cause of the explosions was unknown and still being investigated.

Xinhua said the scene of the accident was closed off and water and electricity had been cut off in nearby neighbourhoods. Residents and students from a nearby university were evacuated.

Television footage showed a cloud of thick black smoke rising from the plant and firefighters trying to bring the blaze under control.