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AN explosion has ripped through an abandoned plastics plant in the Chinese city of Nanjing, killing 13 people and injuring hundreds, 14 critically.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports that an excavator owned by construction company Yangzhou Hongyuan, which was demolishing the Nanjing No. 4 Plastics Factory, hit a propylene pipeline at 09:56 local time. The leaking propylene gas ignited at 10:11 when a nearby car engine started up. Officials told a press conference that the gas supply was shut off a minute later.

Buildings within 100 m of the explosion were very severely damaged and other buildings in the immediate area, which were also being demolished, collapsed. A resident of an apartment block 200 m away told Xinhua that his windows had smashed and furniture inside overturned by the force of the blast. Local hospitals quickly filled up with the injured.

Officials say that the death toll is likely to rise as more bodies are found. The area around the plant has been sealed off and hundreds of rescue workers and fire fighters are reported to be onsite.

China is fighting another potential chemicals disaster in Jilin, after flooding washed 7000 chemical barrels into the Songhua River. According to Xinhua, 4000 barrels were empty but work is underway to recover the remaining 3000, about 2500 barrels of which contain trimethyl chloro silicane, while 500 contain hexamethyl disilazane. So far 400 barrels have been recovered. Water supplies in the city have been disrupted, reportedly leading to panic buying of bottled water. Seven stations have been set up along the river to monitor potential pollution.