Southeast China's chemical plant fire put out

Black smoke rises from the fire caused by blasts at a paraxylene (PX) chemical plant, injuring at least 14 people, in Zhangzhou city, Southeast China's Fujian province, April 6, 2015. [Photo/IC]

ZHANGZHOU - The blaze in a chemical plant in east China's Fujian province has been put out, 21 hours after a blast there which injured six, said local authorities on Tuesday.

The blast occurred at Tenglong Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Zhangzhou) Co. Ltd. on the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou City on Monday evening, when an oil leak at a xylene facility caught fire, setting off explosions in three nearby oil tanks.

Local residents were evacuated, and 177 fire tenders and 829 firefighters battled the blaze.

It was the second accident in 20 months at the same facility, which produces paraxylene (PX), an industrial chemical used for making fiber and plastics.

PX plants are highly controversial in China, and proposed plants have met strong public opposition in recent years.

China's environmental minister insisted during the country's annual parliamentary session in March that new PX projects must pass environmental impact assessments.