Five killed in chemical plant explosion in China

FIVE people have been killed, one is missing, and another is being treated for injuries in hospital after an explosion at a Sinochem chemical plant in the city of Liaocheng in Shandong province, eastern China on Monday, Reuters reports. 

The blast occurred at a hydrogen peroxide production area of Luxi Chemical, a state-owned enterprise which joined Sinochem – another Chinese state-owned conglomerate – in 2020, the firm’s website says. 

Luxi Chemical primarily provides three categories of products to domestic and overseas markets, including nitrogenous fertilisers, compound fertilisers and chemical products. The firm is headquartered in Liaocheng, a sprawling prefecture-level city, that encompasses three major chemical parks: China's New Chemical Materials (Liaocheng) Industrial Park, where Luxi is based; Shen County Modern Industrial Park; and Chiping Chemical Industrial Park. 

According to the Liaocheng High-tech Zone Management Committee, the fire has been extinguished, and an investigation into the cause of the incident is currently underway.