Oil tank explosion in SW China injures four

Four workers were wounded in a blaze after an oil storage exploded in southwest China's city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, Friday night, a local official said.

The explosion occurred in an industrial zone located at the east suburbs of Kunming at about 7 p.m., said Wen Zhiping, an official of the industrial zone.

Twenty four fire engines rushed to the scene. The blaze was put out at about 8 p.m..

The injured are being hospitalized, doctors said, adding that the wounds are not life-threatening.

An initial probe shows that the explosion was caused by the ignition of residual oil in an oil tank while the workers were welding it.

The oil storage was owned by China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, one of the country's largest oil refiners, but had been rent to a local private operator.

Source: Xinhua