10 killed in fire at pharmaceutical plant in China
16 April 2019
A fire tore through a pharmaceutical company in China's Shandong province, suffocating to death at least 10 persons and injuring 12 others, the fourth major industrial accident in the country since last month. The incident occurred on the afternoon of April 15 in the basement of Qilu Tianhe Pharmaceutical when welding sparks ignited a heat-transferring substance, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Eight persons who were working on a pipeline renovation project suffocated to death on the spot, and two others died despite emergency medical treatment. Twelve rescuers also sustained minor smoke inhalation injuries, which were not life-threatening, the report said.
On March 31, seven persons were killed and five others injured in an explosion at a scrap metal moulding plant in China's Jiangsu Province. On March 30, five persons were killed in an explosion in a factory in China's Shandong Province.
On March 22, one of China's worst industrial accidents in which 78 people were killed and over 600 others injured took place. The powerful blast at a pesticide factory in the eastern city of Yancheng demolished a number of other factories in the industrial park.
Following this incident, the Chinese government ordered a nationwide inspection of chemical companies to prevent future large scale factory explosions.