China: At least 21 killed in power plant blast

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – An explosion at a power plant killed at least 21 people and injured five others -- three of them seriously -- in central China on Thursday afternoon.

State news agency Xinhua reported that the fatal incident occurred after a pipeline exploded at the site in Hubei Province.

Dozens of people are killed in industrial accidents in China each year, raising questions about lax safety regulations in the country.

On Aug. 12 last year, two massive warehouse explosions rocked the northern port city of Tianjin, leaving 173 dead including many firefighters.

In mid-January, at least four workers died in a blast at a machinery factory in China’s largest city Shanghai.

One week later, three people were killed and more than 50 injured when explosions ripped through a fireworks factory in eastern Jiangxi Province, causing the evacuation of 1,000 nearby residents.