Two dead after explosion in Central China

Two people were confirmed dead, 18 seriously injured, and 12 missing as of 9:20 pm on Friday following an explosion at a gas plant in Central China's Henan province.

The blast happened at around 6 pm, according to the local emergency management department in Sanmenxia city and rescue work was continuing.

The explosion did not involve tanks of dangerous materials, local government said.

"The sound was extremely loud, with a ball of fire and clouds of smoke in the air," said a local citizen who was 500 meters away from the gas plant when the explosion occurred, quoted by the Beijing News.

"Customers who bought goods outside were scratched by broken glass," he said.

The factory was this month named the first provincial-level enterprise to put in place a double prevention system for safety production risks in Henan.

The Yima gas plant of Henan Gas Co Ltd was established in 1997, covering an area of 87 hectares, with more than 1,200 employees, according to a Southern Metropolitan Daily report.

It is listed as a key monitoring enterprise of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the report said.

Investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.