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Death toll from east China factory blast hits 10

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-28 20:42

NANJING - A powerful explosion at a factory in eastern China's Jiangsu Province Wednesday has left 10 people dead and 14 others seriously injured, local government said.

Officials of the government of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, told a press conference held around 8 p.m. that 10 people were killed and 14 others suffered serious injuries after the blast ripped through an abandoned plastics factory in northern Nanjing.

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More than 120 people were hospitalized, according to the conference.

The blast was caused by a gas leak after a propylene pipeline was damaged when workers dismantled factory buildings of the Nanjing No. 4 Plastics Factory, said a statement from the State Administration of Work Safety.

The explosion occurred when a motorist started a car engine at the scene, igniting the leaking gas, the administration said.

The pipeline, transporting propylene to the factory, had been shut down, it said.