Canoe

Monday, August 21, 2000

Factory explosion kills 14 in China

BEIJING (AP) -- A generator exploded at a steel works in eastern China on Monday, killing 14 people, injuring 18 others and causing part of a workshop to collapse, state media said.

The machine was being overhauled when it exploded just after midnight at the Pingxiang Iron and Steel Plant in Jiangxi province, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

The explosion might have been caused by leaking oxygen, occurring shortly after the oxygen generator was switched on, said police in Pingxiang. The steel-making process involves pumping oxygen through molten steel to burn off impurities.

The blast partially collapsed a two-story cement and brick workshop building where more than 40 employees were working, Xinhua said.

Rescuers were searching for several workers buried under rubble, plant officials said.

Police and firefighters were at the scene and the injured were taken to hospitals, Xinhua said.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 21, 2000