5 dead, 8 injured in chemical factory accident

Five people died and 8 were injured in a chemical factory accident in Jilin city, Northeast China's Jilin province, on Saturday night.

The incident happened after a blackout at 9:30 pm, which caused the exhaust equipment to stop working. The workers thus breathed in toxic gases when preparing to resume work at 11:10 pm.

They were rushed to hospital after the accident and emergency reponse was carried out by the local government.

No harmful gases were detected after local authorities conductd air monitoring of the factory and surrounding areas.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.