Explosion near Chinese chemical plant kills at least 22 and destroys dozens of vehicles

At least 22 people have died and another 22 been injured in an explosion near a chemical factory in northern China.

The blast in the city of Zhangjiakou, 124 miles northwest of Beijing also destroyed 50 trucks and cars.

It is not yet clear whether it happened inside grounds of the Hebei Shenghua Chemical Company, or on the road outside.

The charred and smoking remains of trucks and cars were scattered on a road as firefighters worked at the scene, according to photos posted on Twitter by state broadcaster CGTN.

In a statement local officals said: "On-site search and rescue work and investigation of the cause of the accident are still under way."

Zhangjiakou is due to host the alpine skiing events at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

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Industrial accidents are not uncommon in China, where safety regulations are not always rigorously enforced.

in July 19 people died in a chemical plant explosion in Sichuan province.

The company had undertaken illegal construction that had not passed safety checks, according to local authorities.

In 2015, chemical blasts in a container storage facility killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin.

The explosions caused more than £785 million pounds-worth of damage and sparked widespread anger at a perceived lack of transparency over the accident's causes and its environmental impact.