At least 44 people have been killed and 166 others have injured in an explosion that occurred in Qingdao city of Shandong province in China.
Explosion occurred when a leaking oil pipeline caught fire on Friday.
Among the 166 injured, 65 are in serious condition.
The accident happened around 10.30 a.m. at the crossing between Haihe and Zhaitangdao road in Huangdao district when workers were repairing a petroleum pipeline.
The pipeline had begun leaking oil at around 3 a.m. at the crossing between Qinghuangdao and Zhaitangdao road.
Oil leaking from the Sinopec pipeline into the municipal pipe network caused the explosion, according to an initial investigation.
About 1,000 sq m of road surface was covered with leaked oil at the Zhaitangdao road. Some of the oil had spilled into the Jiaozhou Bay through the rainwater pipeline.
Fires and explosions also occurred in the polluted sea waters at the entrance to the bay.
Oil flow through the pipeline was shut off at about 3.15 a.m. The fire was put out, and barricades were set up to stop the oil from entering the sea.
Environmental monitoring showed that the concentration of toxic materials in the air was below the national standard.
The 176-km pipeline, which links oil depots in Huangdao to Weifang city, home to a few petrochemical plants, is owned by Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.
The pipeline, with a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan ($211.8 million) was put into operation this August. It has an annual transportation capacity of 15 million tones.
Huangdao district is connected with the city by the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge.
(with inputs from IANS)
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