At least 12 people were killed and 10 injured in a blast Friday morning at a chemical plant in east China, state media said.
The explosion happened at 8:45 am (0045 GMT) at the Fuyuan Chemical Plant in Linhai county, Jiangsu province, the Xinhua news agency reported.
While the cause of the accident was investigated, nearly 1,000 rescue workers were dispatched to sift through the debris, with fears that more bodies might emerge, according to the agency.
More than 10 people were hospitalized with injuries, while more than 7,000 people within a radius of two kilometers (1.3 miles) of the blast site were evacuated for fear toxic fumes might have escaped from the factory.
Fatal industrial accidents are a frequent occurrence in China, caused partly because the economic boom has forced production to go into overdrive.
A total of 15,396 people died in 12,800 industrial, mining and commercial enterprise accidents in 2005, according to government figures.
