Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper said the force of the explosion had even affected a railway line 5km (three miles) away. Factory valves were ejected during the blast and landed on the tracks, causing delays and disruptions to trains passing through Baotou. Residents of a nearby village said around 70 to 80 per cent of the windows in the village’s 500 to 600 households were shattered, according to The Paper. Baotou Steel Group is a large state-owned steel enterprise. The factory involved in the accident primarily produces composite steel with added rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, widely...