In the aftermath: People near the site of the chemical plant explosion in Gaomi, Shandong. — Reuters
Residents near a chemical plant in eastern China were taking stock of the damage to their homes after a huge and still unexplained blast killed at least five, spewed out chemicals and shattered windows as far as a kilometre away.
Plumes of black and grey smoke lingered yesterday over the plant at Gaomi, a city in the eastern province of Shandong, a day after the explosion, which the Xinhua news agency said had injured 19, with six more missing.
Farmer Yu Qianming said he and his wife had moved their grandchild elsewhere as a precaution, although they felt safe in their home as long as the wind kept blowing northwards.
His family had escaped without injury, the 69-year-old said, while showing roofing material that fell and windows that shattered in the blast.
Local officials have yet to issue the results of air quality tests on Tuesday, after a column of orange and black smoke billowed from the plant.
Yesterday, vehicles patrolled the perimeter of the site that sprawls over more than 47ha, while drone footage showed multi-storey buildings flattened by the blast.
Liu Ming, a 60-year-old who lives 500m away, said she was considering moving after her home and clothing store suffered extensive damage, though she did not have any firm plans yet.
She showed window frames pulverised by the blast, with shards of glass strewn among boxes of thread and clothes on the floor.
Several shops away, another store owner had a minor head wound from the blast.
Set up in August 2019 in the Gaomi Renhe chemical park, the Shandong Youdao Chemical plant develops and makes chemicals used in pesticides and pharmaceuticals, the company said on its website, with more than 300 employees at the site. — Reuters
