Molten iron spilling from the wall of a blast furnace killed 12 workers and injured another at Nanjing Iron & Steel on Wednesday, according to Xinhua and the company's parent, Shanghai-based Fosun International, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate.
A preliminary investigation concluded that molten iron at temperatures of 1,400 degrees Celsius had penetrated the walls of the furnace, which was being prepared for decommissioning.
Fosun said that the incident was still under investigation and that it would inform investors when there were 'material developments'.
Nanjing Iron & Steel is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Despite the deadly incident, the company said the steel producer's production and operations were in 'normal order'.
Fosun derived 388 million yuan (HK$473.4 million), or 11.4 per cent of its total net profit in the first half of the year, from steel production. Steel accounted for 74 per cent of total revenues of 25.5 billion yuan in the period.