Photo: IC

 
At least one person was killed during a fire that broke out in the ethylene glycol plant area of Shanghai Petrochemical complex on Saturday morning. The fire is under effective control, and has not contaminated the environment around.

The fire occurred at around 4:30 am on Saturday morning, local media reported, saying that residents nearby heard the sound of an explosion and sensed a pungent smell afterward. Videos show that the whole factory was engulfed by black smog. 

A driver at the scene was killed and an employee from the plant suffered a minor injury.

After the fire outbreak, the local department dispatched 563 firefighters. 

Roughly five hours later, Shanghai Petrochemical said on Sina Weibo that the fire was effectively under control, and surveillance of the nearby environment shows there was no contamination. 

The Ministry of Emergency Management also went to the accident scene to guide the rescue work. 

After the fire, a 35-year-old delivery guy was recorded riding against the plant area and shout himself hoarse to people around to “hurry up and run, take your families and run.” The man, named Yu Jie, said that he majored in chemical technology and was vice president of a private company, thus he is familiar with the danger of such situation. Yu was later rewarded by his company.

Global Times