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The blast happened at the Kunshan Waffer Technology factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu. Photo: Handout

7 killed, 5 hurt in blast at auto parts factory in eastern China

  • Accident happened in an outdoor area of plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu, authorities say
  • Seventy-eight people lost their lives in a chemical explosion in the same province just 10 days ago

An explosion at an automotive parts factory in eastern China on Sunday morning has left seven people dead and five others injured, according to local reports.

The blast happened at 7.12am in an outdoor area of the premises of Kunshan Waffer Technology in the Kunshan bonded zone in Jiangsu province, the local government said.

According to reports, the source of the explosion was a container in a yard used for storing scrap metal, and the fire spread to nearby production facilities.

The fire was put out by noon, the Kunshan government said. Five people were taken to hospital with injuries, one of them in critical condition.

An investigation has been launched and hundreds of residents and factory workers have been evacuated from the area.

A still from an unverified video on social media apparently shows thick smoke engulfing the factory. Photo: Weibo

Videos apparently taken at the explosion site showing the factory engulfed in thick smoke have been circulating on Chinese social media.

“There’s heaps of debris from the blast raining down [everywhere],” one person says in footage said to have been taken at the scene soon after the explosion.

The industrial accident is the second in Jiangsu in just 10 days. On March 21, an explosion at the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical plant in the city of Yancheng left at least 78 people dead and injured more than 600.

An investigation team from the State Council, China’s cabinet, made a preliminary conclusion on the nature of the Yancheng accident last week, blaming local officials who were “ignorant of their work” for allowing the company to continue its operations despite multiple safety violations. Executives from the plant have been taken into police custody.

Chinese man arrested for spreading rumours of firefighter fatalities in Jiangsu chemical factory blast blaze

There have been other deadly blasts in Kunshan, an industrial city near Shanghai. In August 2014, an explosion at an auto parts factory claimed 146 lives and injured 114 others. The local work safety authority said the factory, Zhongrong Metal Production, had ignored several warnings about the potential for an explosion. Following the blast, 14 company executives and local government officials were jailed for between three and seven years, while 35 other officials were disciplined and demoted.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Seven killed, five hurt in blast at car parts factory
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