Eastern China chemical spill kills 13

Associated Press ^ | July 8, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Eastern China chemical spill kills 13

07/08/2002

Associated Press

BEIJING - Liquid ammonia spilled from a burst pipe at a fertilizer plant in eastern China on Monday, killing 13 people and injuring 11, a local official and state media said.

The ammonia pipe, located in a workshop at the Shenxian County Fertilizer Company in Shandong province, burst around 2 a.m., the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

One person died on the spot, Xinhua said, and police and fire officials sent the injured to a nearby hospital. The exact causes of death were not immediately clear.

It was not clear how many people were at work at the time, said an official from the provincial Work Safety Supervision Administration. He would only give his surname, Wang.

A man who answered the phone at the factory would not comment.

The cause was under investigation. The vice governor of Shandong was on the scene, Wang said.

China has been plagued by industrial accidents, usually in its hazardous coal mines. The central government has vowed to make workplaces safer and tighten regulations.

Such accidents have so embarrassed Chinese leaders in recent years that Premier Zhu Rongji himself has promised to improve matters.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/070802dnintchina.5c8fc958.html

[DrDavid]

How the Government runs its businesses. This illustrates the thread about Government Compassion.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks!