Three dead in Hubei chemical explosion

Three people died after an explosion occurred on Thursday at a nitrocellulose production workshop of a chemical company in Laohekou city of Hubei province, China Central Television reported on Sunday.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the cause of the accident was the decrease in water level in the boiling and washing pot of the workshop, so that some nitrocellulose lacked water.

Under high-temperature steam, the nitrocellulose decomposed, continuously releasing heat, which caused a violent thermal decomposition of the whole nitrocellulose inside the pot, resulting in an explosion.

The specific reasons are under further investigation.