Four injured and one missing after gas well explosion
22 December 2011
It is understood that one person is missing and four others are hospitalised after a gas well exploded in the southwestern province of Sichuan early on the morning of Thursday 22 December.
The explosion and fire occurred at a gas well owned by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Dayi county in the city of Chengdu, the provincial capital, at around 03:30 during a drilling operation, according to firefighters.
The fire was under control by 09:40 following the efforts of more than 100 firefighters.
CNPC has sent a team of experts to investigate the cause of the accident.
Company sources have said that the gas released did not contain hydrogen sulfide, which is a type of toxin and an inflammable gas. Local residents that had been evacuated have begun to return home, and a search for the missing individual is under way.
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