At least five people were killed on Tuesday when a huge explosion ripped through the Gaomi Youdao Chemical Company plant in Weifang, China.
The explosion blew out out windows up to two miles away and released a massive cloud of chemical smoke into the air, prompting local residents to fear for their health.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted a student from a school about a thousand yards away from the chemical plant who reported seeing “dirt-yellow smoke, tainted with redness, rising from the plant” in the wake of the explosion, accompanied by a “funny smell.” The students were instructed to wear protective masks.
The Gaomi Youdao Chemical Company primarily manufactures pesticides and medical chemicals. Local residents told Reuters they have long been worried about the danger of contamination.
“Ideally this chemical factory shouldn’t be so close to here… it’s too near, isn’t it? Especially at night when it’s operating, the smell from the factory is really strong,” a local farmer said.
Other Weifang residents and business owners said their homes and shops were damaged in the explosion, forcing them to evacuate to hotels. Local officials said at least five people were killed in the blast, and six more were missing as of Wednesday morning. Dozens of minor injuries were reported.
“The incident took place less than two weeks after the National Ministry of Emergency Management held a workshop on preventing and controlling risks in the chemical industry, as Beijing urged officials at chemical industrial parks to boost their capabilities in ‘managing hazardous chemicals,’” the AP noted.
China has suffered a string of warehouse and factory explosions over the past five years, including major chemical plant explosions in 2023 and 2024. The Gaomi Youdao plant in Weifang was cited for “safety risks” on at least two documented instances over the past year, and the company itself found over 800 safety hazards last year — but local emergency management officials said in September they were satisfied all of those concerns had been addressed.
As of Wednesday morning, Weifang officials had not identified a possible cause for the explosion. Search and rescue operations are still underway, with over two hundred local emergency responders working the scene, along with reinforcements from the national Ministry of Emergency Management.
