At least seven people were killed and four others suffered injuries after a gas poisoning incident at a biotechnology firm in eastern China, state media reported.
The incident took place last Saturday afternoon at the Weifang Jinshi company in Shandong province, the Xinhua news agency quoted emergency officials as saying last Sunday.
Rescue workers had been deployed to aid the survivors and investigations are ongoing, local authorities said.
“Those who sustained injuries are currently in stable condition,” Xinhua reported, citing the local emergency management bureau in Shouguang City, about 380km south-east of the capital Beijing.Industrial accidents are reportedly a common occurrence in China, often attributed to supposedly poor safety training and lax protocols.
In January, at least eight people were killed in a factory explosion in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, state media reported.
And in May last year, nine people died in a blast at a factory used to produce hydrogen peroxide in Liaocheng, also located in Shandong province, where last Saturday’s poisoning occurred. — AFP
