A large fire broke out on Saturday at the headquarters of a petrochemical facility in southeastern Shanghai, according to state media.
The fire broke out around 4 am in an ethylene glycol treatment unit owned by the state-owned oil company Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, headquartered in an industrial complex on the outskirts of Jinshan.
Firefighters were able to control the flames, the company said in a statement posted on Chinese social media. account..
A video on the scene’s social media showed a fierce fire and huge smoke of dark smoke rising from what appeared to be part of a Shinopek facility isolated from a residential area in the district.
It was not clear if a person was killed or injured in an explosion or fire. According to local media reports, some residents living near the facility fled the building after hearing the big bangs from the explosion and smelled a pungent scent a few miles away.
According to the company, the flame was “effectively suppressed” but was “protected and burned.”
Sinopec said it is monitoring the area for volatile organic compounds and has not yet detected any harmful effects on the local water supply.
Joy Dong contributed to the report.
