Beijing blast kills three

Beijing blast kills three

BEIJING (Reuter): A huge explosion at a chemical factory in suburban Beijing killed at least three people and injured 64, city government officials said yesterday.

The blast that rocked the Dongfang Chemical Factory in Beijing's Tong county at around 9.30 p.m. (0130 GMT) on Friday sent shards of metal cascading across nearby streets and blew out windows up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

"It was a huge explosion," said one resident. "We all ran -- it was terrifying."

An official of the Beijing city government said a fire had broken out in a storage-tank area at the chemical plant, killing three people. Of the 64 injured, 12 were seriously hurt, he said.