Who could have seen this coming?
Just a little over a week after a powerful explosion killed 114 and injured more than 700 in the Chinese port of Tianjin, it appears as though a second blast has occurred at a chemical warehouse, this time in China's eastern Shandong province. A residential area is reportedly located just 1 km away.
[6]
We'll await the details which we imagine will suggest that, as was the case in Tianjin, many more tonnes of something terribly toxic were stored than is allowed under China's regulatory regime which apparently only applies to those who are not somehow connected to the Politburo. Indeed, The People's Daily is reporting [7] that the plant contained adiponitrile, which the CDC says can cause "irritation eyes, skin, respiratory system; headache, dizziness, lassitude (weakness, exhaustion), confusion, convulsions; blurred vision; dyspnea (breathing difficulty); abdominal pain, nausea, [and] vomiting."
There are two videos shown below. As of now, there's some confusion as to which is authentic.
BREAKING: Chemical warehouse in Shandong exploded on Sat. Firefighters are at the site now pic.twitter.com/DdZ5o3k4sk [8]
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 22, 2015 [9]
#BREAKING [10] Explosion occurs to a chemical plant in E China’s Shandong on Saturday evening, flames spotted at site pic.twitter.com/CG9cRwlOAM [11]
— CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) August 22, 2015 [12]
From BBC [13]:
An explosion has been reported at a chemical plant in China's eastern province of Shandong.
Large flames can be seen from the site of the blast in Zibo County. There are so far no reports of any casualties.
The People's Daily said a warehouse at the plant exploded and firefighters are at the scene. There is a residential area about 1km from the plant.
Earlier this month blasts in the northern city of Tianjin killed at least 116 people, with hundreds hurt.
Unverified YouTube footage showed a massive explosion at the Shandong plant.
It is not yet clear if homes in the Shandong area have been damaged.
And from Reuters [14]:
The factory produced adiponitrile, a colorless liquid that releases poisonous gases when it reacts with fire, the People's Daily said, citing the state-run Beijing Times.
Seven fire brigades consisting of a total of 150 fire fighters and 20 fire engines were sent to the scene and fire brigades that are trained to work with fires involving chemicals are being dispatched, Xinhua said.
Windows shattered in the village where the blast occurred, state media said, and tremors reverberated within 2 kilometers (1 mile) of the site of the explosion.