Around 18,000 people were evacuated from a district in east China where an oil pipeline explosion killed 48 people as the largest oil refiner on Saturday apologised for one of the country’s worst industrial accidents.
The blast occurred on Friday in Huangdao district of port city Qingdao when workers were trying to plug a leak after oil from the State-owned pipeline flowed into a municipal pipe network, killing 47 people and injuring 136 others.
A total of 18,000 people were evacuated from the areas affected by the blast. Students from nearby schools and local residents were evacuated and given masks.