Explosion at chemical plant in eastern China, 9 injured – state media

An explosion has been reported at a chemical plant in the Chinese province of Shandong, according to media reports.

The blast of the explosion was so powerful that tremors were felt within a two-kilometer radius of the blast site, BBC News reports. The death toll from a warehouse blast in Tianjin has risen to 121, including 67 firefighters and seven policemen, authorities said at a press conference on Saturday.

Earlier this month blasts involving chemicals in the northern city of Tianjin killed at least 116 people.

No fatalities were reported in the blast on Saturday night, said the Xinhua news agency – citing local authorities, although the nine injured people were taken to hospital.

One resident said the chemical plant had only recently started operating and was still in the process of hiring workers, the South China Morning Post reported.

The chemical is very harmful to the human skin.

The cause of the Tianjin disaster is still under investigation, although state media reports say the warehouse ” which was storing sodium cyanide and other unsafe chemicals ” was located too close to residential areas and may have obtained falsified safety approvals.

In Tianjin, 54 people are still missing after the explosions which sparked fears of toxic pollutants contaminating the air and water of the city, which has a population of around 15 million people.