Death toll from east China explosion rises to 13
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The death toll in a powerful explosion at a factory in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing Wednesday has risen to 13 after three more bodies were found under the debris, local authorities said Thursday.
The blast was caused by a gas leak after a propylene pipeline was damaged as workers dismantled factory buildings of the Nanjing No. 4 Plastics Factory, said a statement from the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
The rescue headquarters say an excavator owned by Yangzhou Hongyuan Construction and Development Co., Ltd. hit a a pipe of 159 mm in diameter.
The gas leak started at 9:56 a.m. and explosion occurred at 10:11 a.m.Gas supply was cut off a minute later, said Liu Zhaohua, deputy head of Nanjin's work safety bureau.
The excavator operator, whose identity was not revealed, has been held by police for investigation.
The explosion occurred when a motorist started a car engine at the scene, igniting the leaking gas, the SAWS statement said, without saying if the motorist was among the victims.
Some rescuers and repairmen who had come to handle the gas leak may have died in the explosion, the headquarters said.
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