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One person dies, one injured in chemical plant blast in Shandong province -Xinhua

The fire has been extinguished by now

© AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

BEIJING, August 23 /TASS/. One person died and another nine were injured in a chemical plant explosion in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, the Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

The blast occurred at in Huantai County at 20:40 local time (15:40 Moscow time) . After that, the chemical plant went up in flames. The shockwave broke the windows in nearby houses. The chemical plant annually produces up to 300,000 tonnes of adiponitrile, a colorless liquid that releases poisonous gases when it reacts with fire.

The fire has been extinguished by now. According to the local environmental department, there are no signs of contamination with toxic agents at the blast site.

Police are investigating the fire causes.

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