Giant Chemical Plant Explosion Caused by ‘High-Boiling-Point Solvents’ Leaves 2 Injured in China

February 9, 2017

Two people were reportedly injured in a massive boiler explosion near a Hengxing Chemicals plant located in Tongling in China’s Anhui Province on Wednesday night.

The huge fireball and mushroom cloud erupted at around 10:50 p.m. in a suburban area and lasted for a few seconds, according to Tongling’s fire department.

Local authorities added that there were no hazardous chemicals involved in the explosion, reported Shanghaiist.

The fire has been brought under control and no casualties have been reported.

However, two people were slightly injured in the incident, suffering only minor cuts from flying fragments of glass, and were immediately sent to the hospital.

Zou He, director of the public security bureau of Tongling, stated that the blast was the result of “fuel oil burning,” according to CRI English.

Video footage of the blast, which was reportedly caused by “high-boiling-point solvents,” have gone viral on Chinese social media.

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There have been chemical explosions at a number of facilities across China in the past year.

In August 2015, a massive blast killed 165 people at the port of Tianjin, which pushed President Xi Jinping to promise improvements on safety standards for workers, and encouraging authorities to learn “extremely profound” lessons “paid for with blood,” according to Reuters.

Check out more footage below via YouTube:

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