An explosives demolition crew have successfully tore down Sanya's biggest air polluter - the Tianya Cement Plant, formally located in a hot tourism spot in southern China's Hainan Province on Sunday afternoon.

Seven 30-meter-high cement storage containers were demolished by 230 kilograms of explosives within 5 seconds, the most difficult explosives demolition on record in Hainan, local Hainan Daily reported.

The seven huge containers were the final part of a demolition phase that actually started at the end of August, with the purpose of improving the regions energy saving, emissions reductions and environmental protection.

According to statistics from the local environmental department, the plant used to emit 25 to 30 tonnes of dust a day, one of the top polluters of the city's air quality.

After its successful removal, a vocational school, housing as much as 1,000 students, will be built on the site.

(CRI December 31, 2007)