Oil tank truck blast in east China kills 19, injures 172: official

(Wenling) The death toll from an oil tank truck blast in east China's Zhejiang Province had risen to 19 as of 10:00 Sunday, with 172 injured still receiving medical treatment, said the local government.

The accident occurred at around 16:46 Saturday when a tank truck loaded with liquified gas exploded near the village of Liangshan in the city of Wenling, Zhejiang Province, on a section of the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway, local authorities said.

The Wenling City government held a press conference on Sunday on the accident. Before the conference started, all the participants stood up and mourned for the victims of the accident.

Zhu Minglian, executive deputy mayor of Wenling City, gave a basic introduction o the accident. Zhu said that the Zhejiang Provincial government will dispatch an investigation team to further look into the accident.

"So far, the accident has caused 19 deaths, and 172 are hospitalized. The surrounding buildings are damaged to varying degrees. On-site disposal and other related work is still being carried out," said Zhu.

The local firefighting department has dispatched at least 34 fire engines and 138 firefighters to the scene for rescue. Special police forces, as well as local volunteers also joined the rescue. The rescuers are currently using life detectors to search for more survivors.