Beijing, Nov 03: At least one person was killed and 71 others are ill after a steel cylinder storing toxic liquid chlorine exploded today in Pingyang County in east Zhejiang province. One of those poisoned is in critical condition while seven others are seriously hurt, Xinhua news agency quoted doctors at Pingyang County Red Cross and Pingyang County traditional Chinese medicine hospital, where the victims were under intensive treatment. The incident occurred just after midnight when the steel cylinder containing a tonne of liquid chlorine suddenly blew up in Liandong village of Aojiang town, Wenzhou City, where the illegal use of chemicals to wash out colours from acrylic fibres in household workshops is common. The blast site, where two other steel cylinders with two tonnes of liquid chlorine were left intact, had been sealed off by police.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, the report said. Bureau Report