NewsFlashHundreds buried as quake razes plants

12 May 2008 15:28  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Several hundred people are thought to be buried in two collapsed chemical plants in China's southwestern province of Sichuan following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit on Monday, according to reports.

 

Around 6,000 people were thought to have been evacuated from the plants where 80 tonnes of liquid ammonia had leaked following the quake which hit at 06:28 GMT, state news agency Xinhua reported.

 

The earthquake is thought to have killed up to 5,000 people in Sichuan where, according to the China National Chemical Information Centre, 460 chemicals plants are located.

 

Chlor-alkali producer Sichuan Jinlu had shut down its plant following the disaster.

 

Sichuan is home to major natural gas-based producers of chemicals and fertilizers and chlor-alkali makers. The ICIS plants and projects database lists 22 major provincial producers.

 

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By: Lucy Craymer
+44 20 8652 3214

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