Eight workers have been killed in an explosion at a fertilizer plant in east China's Shandong Province, sources with local government said Thursday.

The explosion happened around 11:50 PM Wednesday at the Shandong De Qilong Chemical Group Co. Ltd., in Pingyuan County of Dezhou City, when ten workers were adjusting a newly-installed compressor.

Eight died at the scene, and the two injured workers have been sent to the county hospital. Local sources said the cause of the explosion was yet to be investigated.

The Shandong De Qilong company is located 90 km northeast of the provincial capital Jinan. The company website shows its total assets as 3.5 billion yuan (US$460 million) and it employs about 3,000 people. Its major products include carbamides and liquefied ammonia.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2007)