Details of an explosion that destroyed an adhesives plant in eastern China, including a mounting death toll, are only slowly emerging despite pledges for greater transparency made in the wake of last month’s Tianjin disaster.
The local government of Dongying in Shandong province has gradually raised the number killed to 13 after an initial assessment of one when a single blast destroyed the Binyuan Chemicals plant on August 31. “The bodies were blown to pieces, making the investigation difficult,” it said in an explanation that was deleted from the Dongying government website after being picked up by Chinese media.
The explosion comes less than a month after the Tianjin blast killed at least 162 people and destroyed thousands of apartments, unsold cars and other facilities. Insurance claims could reach $3.3bn, making it one of Asia’s most expensive man-made disasters for insurers, according to risk and reinsurance specialists Guy Carpenter.