Nationwide probe to start in wake of deadly blast

The Ministry of Emergency Management will launch a thorough examination of all chemical factories to root out safety hazards in the wake of an explosion in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, on Wednesday that killed 23 people.

The ministry's work safety bureau will set up 10 teams, comprising members of industry associations and experts, that will provide safety guidance and help it conduct in-depth investigations of 50 key counties with plants producing hazardous chemicals, Huang Ming, the ministry's Party secretary, said on Sunday.

It will also strengthen safety control and management with regard to the planning of plant sites and examine storage facilities for chloroethylene gas - an industrial chemical - at 75 enterprises across the country, he said.