Huge blaze at Shanghai Sinopec plant kills one
- Roaring fire at one of China’s biggest refining and petrochemicals plants started around 4am on Saturday
- State-owned Sinopec says no impact on the surrounding water environment was found
A video posted on Twitter by the state-backed Shanghai Daily showed the roaring fire engulfing part of a sprawling factory, emitting columns of thick black smoke.
The fire at one of China’s biggest refining and petrochemicals plants started around 4am and had been brought under control within five hours, but “was difficult to handle”, Xinhua reported, citing fire officials.
It was expected to continue burning for some time.
The driver of a third-party transport vehicle died and a company employee suffered a minor injury, a Sinopec representative at the Shanghai plant said.
He said the fire affected the ethylene glycol facility at the plant in Jinshan, a southwestern suburb of China’s financial capital.
Sinopec Shanghai has processing capacity for 16 million tonnes of crude oil a year and 700,000 tonnes of ethylene, according to its website.
It is building a 3.5 billion yuan (US$520 million) carbon fibre project as it seeks to diversify away from refining, and focus on resin and fibres.
