21 May 2003
Reports taken from various news agencies and Xinhua
According to reports, six people have died and a further 15 were injured when an explosion ripped through a privately owned chemical plant in a northeastern suburb of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province on the morning of 21 May 2003. The plant has some 44 employees.
The explosion and subsequent fire occurred when a reaction tower exploded, killing one person and burying another five. The collapse of the tower triggered a fire in a neighboring warehouse, the blaze reportedly took almost 24 hours to put out.
Twenty people were injured and five of them died in hospital. Eight people remain in hospital.