At least five people were killed and 19 injured Tuesday after a powerful explosion ripped through a chemical plant in eastern China’s Shandong province, according to local emergency officials. Six others remain missing.
The blast occurred around noon at Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co. in the city of Weifang. The company produces pesticides and chemicals for medical use and employs over 500 people, according to corporate filings.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the explosion.
The force of the blast shattered windows more than three kilometers away, a resident told local media. State broadcaster CCTV said over 230 emergency responders were deployed to the site.
A student at a nearby school, roughly 900 meters from the plant, reported hearing the explosion and seeing dirt-yellow smoke tinged with red. Students were instructed to wear masks due to a strong odor in the air.
Local environmental officials dispatched a team to monitor for possible contamination, though no results have been released yet.
The incident comes less than two weeks after Beijing urged tighter oversight of hazardous materials at chemical industrial parks. Gaomi Youdao had been cited twice for safety risks in 2024 but was later praised for addressing over 800 hazards that year, according to the city’s emergency management bureau.
Workplace safety remains a challenge in China. In 2024, the government recorded nearly 22,000 workplace incidents and over 19,000 deaths. Previous high-profile disasters include a 2015 blast in Tianjin that killed 173 and a 2019 explosion in Jiangsu that left 78 dead
Iran is now facing a near‑total internet blackout as anti-government protests sweep the country. Major cities including Tehran have seen connectivit...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 9th of January, covering the latest developments you need to k...
Overhauling Armenia's economic structure and strengthening state institutions is a main focus as the Armenian government adopts a 42-page Doctrine of ...
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet say they carried out targeted strikes on Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip on Thursda...
Iran does not seek war with Israel or the United States but is prepared to respond if attacked, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursd...
China has begun exporting a rapid blackout recovery technology designed to restore electricity in just 0.1 seconds, offering power grid protection to 12 countries facing rising risks of outages and instability.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to China later this month, marking the first visit by a Canadian leader since 2017.
President Donald Trump declared that the United States will "always be there" for NATO, emphasising the importance of the alliance in countering global threats. In a post on Truth Social, Trump reiterated that Russia and China only feared NATO as long as the U.S. remained a member.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported a significant movement of U.S. military aircraft towards the Middle East in recent hours. Dozens of U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling tankers and heavy transport aircraft were observed heading eastwards, presumably to staging points in the region.
Snow and ice stalled travellers in northwest Europe on Wednesday, forcing around a thousand to spend the night in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport but delighting others who set out to explore a snow-blanketed Paris on sledges and skis.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Two people have been killed after a private helicopter crashed at a recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region, Russian authorities and local media have said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that Iran could face a strong response from the United States if its authorities kill protesters amid ongoing unrest.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 9th of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv early on Friday (9 January) killed at least 4 people, injured at least 19, and caused significant damage to residential buildings and critical infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.
Venezuela has released prominent Venezuelan-Spanish rights activist Rocío San Miguel and four other Spanish citizens, Spanish authorities said on Thursday (8 January). Local rights groups report that promised releases of Venezuelan political prisoners are yet to materialise.
Türkiye’s United Nations envoy called on the international community on Thursday to maintain strong support for the elimination of Syria’s remaining chemical weapons, stressing that the task is both a legal obligation and a critical priority for regional security and humanitarian protection.
Georgia has said it will clarify the circumstances surrounding the U.S. seizure of a Russian‑flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic and is seeking information on its Georgian crew members.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment