At least five dead, six missing after China chemical plant blast

BEIJING: An explosion at a chemical plant in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong killed at least five people, with 19 injured and six missing, the state-run Xinhua agency said late on Tuesday.

The blast occurred a few minutes before noon on Tuesday, shaking part of a chemical plant operated by Shandong Youdao Chemical in the city of Weifang.

Videos circulating on Chinese social media and verified by Reuters showed plumes of orange and black smoke billowing into the sky. Windows of nearby buildings were ripped from their hinges by the explosion, one of the videos showed.

More than 200 emergency workers responded to the blast, according to a statement issued by China's emergency response authority on Tuesday afternoon.

Drone video posted by The Beijing News, a government-run publication, showed smoke emerging from the chemical plant and from a second, unidentified facility nearby.

Baidu Maps, a navigation app, shows other manufacturing companies next to Youdao's plant, including a textile company, a machinery company and a firm that makes industrial coating materials.

The Weifang Ecological Environment Bureau dispatched staff to test the site of the blast but said there were no results yet available. The bureau advised nearby residents to wear face masks in the meantime, Beijing News reported.

Shandong Youdao Chemical is owned by Himile Group, which also owns listed Himile Mechanical, shares of which closed down nearly 3.6% on Tuesday.

Youdao was established in August 2019 in the Gaomi Renhe chemical park in Weifang, according to the company's website. The plant covers more than 116 acres and has more than 300 employees.

The company develops, produces and sells chemical components for use in pesticides and pharmaceuticals.

Blasts at chemical plants in China in recent years have included one in the northwest region of Ningxia in 2024 and another in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2023.

Two massive explosions at warehouses containing hazardous and flammable chemicals in the port city of Tianjin in 2015 killed over 170 people and injured 700. That incident prompted the government to tighten laws covering chemical storage.

An explosion in 2015 at another chemical plant in Shandong killed 13 people.