Five killed in chemical plant explosion

Five people were killed, 8 were missing and 34 sustained injuries in the explosion and fire in a chemical plant in Panjin, Liaoning province, on Sunday, the Panshan county government said on Monday.

Among the injured, four were in critical condition. All the injured have been hospitalized.

The fire has been brought under control and other facilities near the site secured. The dynamic air monitoring results around the plant showed no abnormality, according to the county government.

The accident occurred in the maintenance process at the Panjin Haoye Chemical Co Ltd located in Panshan county at around 1:25 pm Sunday.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

A total of 370 people participated in the rescue, including firefighters, emergency, public security, and environmental protection workers.