Biotech plant explosion in China kills six
28 June 2019
Six people were killed in an explosion at a biotech plant in central China on June 26. The explosion took place at Xumei Biotech in Weishi, Henan Province, according to the Xinhua news agency. Five others were injured, one critically, the agency added.
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According to a report from Beijing News, a tank exploded and trapped the six people who died in a workshop. By the time the fire from the explosion had been put out by first responders, five employees had expired. The sixth was in critical condition and died later at the hospital.
The head of the company had been detained by authorities as part of the investigation.
This is not the first biotech workplace explosion that has caused death or injury of employees. Earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion at a Puslin Biotechnologies facility in India.
In April, 10 people were killed and about a dozen were injured in an explosion at generic drugmaker Qilu Tianhe Huishi Pharmaceuticals in China. The explosion resulted due to maintenance work being conducted on underground piping, Chinese news agencies said.
In March, a chemical plant explosion at Jiangsu killed at least 78 people.