A powerful explosion at a factory in eastern China's Jiangsu Province Wednesday left at least five people dead and 28 seriously injured, the local government said. Officials of the government of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, told a press conference in the afternoon that five people were killed and 28 others suffered serious injuries after the blast ripped through an abandoned plastics factory in northern Nanjing. More than 100 others have been taken to hospital, Xinhua reported. The blast was caused by a gas leak after a propylene pipeline was damaged when workers dismantled factory buildings of the Nanjing No. 4 Plastics Factory, said a statement from the State Administration of Work Safety, citing a report from its Jiangsu branch. The explosion occurred when a motorist started a car engine at the scene, igniting the leaking gas, the administration said. The pipeline, transporting propylene to the factory, had been shut down, it said. According to the administration, the factory had been relocated and the land was planned for property development. Buildings and vehicles within a 100-meter radius of the factory were seriously damaged.
