China: Explosion in Shandong chemical plant shakes the ground 2km away

A warehouse at the Runxing Chemical plant in Shandong, eastern China has blown up, causing a fire around 8.50pm local time (1.50pm BST) report People's Daily. Twelve fire engines were at the scene trying to put out the fire. No casualties have yet been reported.

Large flames are reported at the site of the blast in Zibo County, according to the BBC. CCTV News also posted pictures of large flames at the site of the blast.

State media report that windows had been shattered in homes and buildings, and tremors were felt 2km (1 mile) from the site of the explosion.

Tianjian blast site 'contaminated'

The explosion follows two huge blasts in Tianjin, in the neighbouring province Hebei. The explosions in a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals on August 12 killed 116 people and have left 60 still missing.

The incident raised fears of contamination by toxic substances and has sparked a nationwide directive cracking down on the storage of chemicals. The operators of the Tianjin site are being investigated for allowing dangerous chemicals to be stored too close to homes.

One of the new fires on the site was reported to be in the depot where 3,000 cars were burnt. Leaking fuel is suspected of causing the fire.

Officials say the Tianjin blast site is contaminated by more than 40 dangerous substances. Among the toxins is sodium cyanide, which has been blamed for causing thousands of dead fish to wash up on the shore of Haihe river, a few kilometres away from the blast site.

The chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army's Beijing Military Region Shi Luze confirmed the presence of more than 100 tons of deadly sodium cyanide, stored at two separate sites. Shi said the chemicals do not pose any risk to people outside a 2km exclusion zone set up after the incident.