China: Blast hits oil refinery in Qixia District, no casualties reported

The blast happened at Jinlingshihua Nanjing Refinery which is a subsidiary of Sinopec Group.

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An explosion took place on Sunday at an oil refinery in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing after a production equipment caught fire.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the explosion occurred at the Jinlingshihua Nanjing Refinery in Qixia District at around 1:50pm. No casualties have been reported yet.

Jinlingshihua Nanjing Refinery is a subsidiary of Sinopec Group.

The news agency reported the images of the incident that were posted on social media showed a thick black some surrounding the industrial complex. The fire brigade, which was dispatched immediately, controlled the blaze and there were no reports of a secondary or security risk.

The company also confirmed on its official microblog that everything was under control.

This incident marks the latest industrial mishap in China.

Industrial accidents are nothing new in China. Moreover, anger over lax standards is growing in the country after the economic growth has been marred by incidents of mining disasters and factory fires for three consecutive decades.

The Chinese government has vowed to improve safety facilities.

In August 2015, a chemical blast in the port city of Tianjin shook the entire country and killed more than 170 persons. Reuters reported that following the incident, President Xi Jinping said the authorities would learn the lessons paid for with blood after the chemical blasts.

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