Eastern China factory explosion kills 65

2 Aug TN

An explosion at a factory in eastern China on Saturday killed 65 people, a government broadcaster said, while more than 100 were injured in what appeared to be an industrial accident.

The explosion in Kunshan, a city in the eastern province of Jiangsu near Shanghai, "has resulted in 65 deaths", state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said in an Internet post.The explosion occurred Saturday morning at a workshop in a metals factory, state media said. The cause of the incident has not yet been identified. More than 100 people were injured when a "powerful blast ripped through" the factory, China´s official Xinhua news agency said.Graphic photographs posted online showed a charred body being wheeled on a stretcher, and people with burned clothing sitting on the ground outside a factory complex that was billowing black smoke.

"The scene is a mess, it´s unrecognisable," a witness at the scene wrote on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.Industrial accidents occur with some regularity in China, where safety standards are often lax. A fire at a poultry plant in the northeast of the country killed 119 people last year.

The People´s Daily newspaper reported online that the factory in Kunshan employs 450 staff. State media said the blast occurred at a wheel hub polishing workshop inside the factory.Medical staff have been sent from China´s commercial hub Shanghai to treat burns victims, the People´s Daily added in an online post.Jiangsu province is located on China´s coast. Many local and foreign companies have facilities there producing goods for export.