DEATH TOLL HITS 64 IN DEADLY CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST IN CHINA

BEIJING: The death toll from the explosion at a chemical plant in China’s Jiangsu province rose to 64 on Saturday, authorities said. At least 21 people remain in critical condition while 28 others are listed as missing.

About 70 more sustained severe injuries when an inferno ripped through the Jiangsu Tianjiayi chemical company plant in Xiangshui county of Yancheng city on Thursday.

“Thousands of firefighters and medical workers, and hundreds of ambulances and fire trucks have joined all-out rescue efforts,” the news agency Xinhua said in a report.

A total of 89 houses in nearby areas were severely damaged by the blast, the report said, adding that the authorities said they would compensate or relocate the owners.

The impact of the powerful explosion shattered windows of more than 2,800 houses. Damaged doors and windows in 10 nearby schools will be repaired in quick time to ensure classes resume on Monday. A few thousand inhabitants from the neighbourhood had to be evacuated.

Yancheng’s environment protection official, Cheng Jie, told the tabloid Global Times that sample tests show chemical pollutants have dispersed and the atmospheric parameters have come down to normal limits.

Cao Lubao, Yancheng mayor, said at a press meet on Saturday that at least 26 of the deceased have been identified.

According to Cao, 16 hospitals across Yancheng had received and treated 617 patients. Among them, 523 had suffered injuries that are not serious.