Sichuan chemical plant blast kills 19

An explosion at an industrial park in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Thursday killed 19 and injured 12, local authorities said.

The blast occurred at 6:30 pm on Thursday at the Hengda chemical plant in an industrial park in Jiang’an county, Yibin, according to the provincial work safety administration.

The Jiang’an county government said the fire was put out Friday morning, and that those who were injured are in stable condition.

An investigation is underway.

A witness told the Beijing News that “seven explosions were heard within 10 minutes. The metal debris cut off one person’s arm. And it took dozens of fire engines to put out the fire.”

Hengda has been closed, and authorities are checking the identities of the casualties, Liu Ping, an official who works for the industrial park, told China Newsweek on Friday.

Online video shows the aftermath of the fire. The explosion shattered the windows of nearby buildings.

Registered in June 2015, Hengda mainly produces chemical products.

Peng Qinghua, Sichuan Province Party chief, said the government will hold a province-wide safety examination to remove safety hazards and minimize the possibility of accidents, Sichuan Daily reported.

In 2015, an explosion at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin killed 165 people.