Reuters AlertNet Lite - Blast at PetroChina's Lanzhou plant kills 3

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Blast at PetroChina's Lanzhou plant kills 3

12 Dec 2006 04:15:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A blast at a petrochemical plant in northwestern Lanzhou, the second deadly accident in less than a year at a unit of PetroChina <PTR.N> <0857.HK> in the city, killed three workers, the Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

The explosion at Lanzhou Petroleum and Chemical Company happened on Monday afternoon in part of a unit making maleic anhydride, the report said.

PetroChina could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shares in the company were down 0.4 percent late on Tuesday morning, in line with a 0.2 percent drop in the index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong <.HSCE>.

In late June a gas leak at a gasoline-making unit in Lanzhou refinery, as it was restarting from maintenance, sparked an explosion that killed one and injured 10.

PetroChina and its parent CNPC have been plagued by a string of accidents including an explosion in northern Jilin last November which poured 100 tonnes of toxic chemicals into a major river, temporarily poisoning the drinking water of millions of people downstream.

CNPC's head, Chen Geng, stepped down in November after reaching the retirement age of 60, and is expected to leave his post as chairman of PetroChina by the end of the year.

China sometimes allows top officials to serve beyond the official retirement age. But Chen's two-year tenure was marred by industrial accidents.

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Last updated:Tue Dec 12 04:21:58 2006