Oil pipe blast in the wake of leak kills 6, severely injures 7 in eastern China port

BEIJING, China – Local authorities say an oil pipe explosion in an eastern Chinese city has killed six and severely injured seven others.

The district government of Huangdao in the seaside port of Qingdao said an oil pipe near a shopping mall broke Friday morning and that the rupture caught fire during repairs. It says the incident remains under investigation.

Authorities assured the public that the blast was well away from any petrochemical plants of military facilities.

Photos posted online and in social media show huge black smoke and shattered concrete slabs.

The pipeline is owned by China’s largest oil refiner, Sinopec. Calls to Sinopec’s headquarters in Beijing were not immediately answered Friday.

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