The Chinese chemical industry park where an explosion last month killed 78 people and left hundreds injured will be closed, authorities have said.
The blast in Yancheng City, eastern Jiangsu Province, was one of the worst industrial accidents in the country in recent years, razing buildings nearby and blowing out the windows of surrounding homes. Authorities evacuated thousands of residents.
The decision to close the Xiangshui Chemical Industry Park (響水化工園區) was made on Thursday by the local government, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday.
Jiangsu Province will also begin closing chemical plants, with the number of producers to be cut roughly in half by next year, news site The Paper reported.
Local authorities on Tuesday said that 187 people hurt in the blast remained in hospital, with two in critical condition.
ARRESTS
Three employees from the firm Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co (天嘉宜化工), whose facility was involved in the blast, have been detained by police.
They bore “significant responsibility” for the accident, according to a statement on the Yancheng government’s official microblogging account.
The company, with 195 employees, was established in 2007 and mainly produced raw chemical materials, including anisole, a highly flammable compound.
It had a history of violating environmental regulations, according to online records from the Yancheng Bureau of Environment and Ecology.
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