41 hospitalised after ammonia leak at China chemical plant

Beijing, September 19

Forty-one people have been admitted to hospital, including five in serious conditions, following a synthetic ammonia leak at a chemical plant in China's central Henan Province, the latest industrial accident in the country.

About 300 kgs of synthesised ammonia leaked from a cracked pipe at Henan Zhonghong Coal Chemical Company yesterday.

A total of 154 residents who live nearby the accident site were sent to hospital. Forty-one remain under observation, including five in serious conditions, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The government said the ammonia detected in the air near the site is within the national standard.

Plant operations have been suspended. A number of incidents of workplace safety hazards have occurred in China.

In August, a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals caught fire and exploded in the northern port city of Tianjin, killing 165 and leaving eight missing in China's worst industrial accident.

In 2013, a gas line ruptured in the eastern port city of Qingdao, triggering blasts that killed 62 people. —PTI