China plant explosion death toll up to 15

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BEIJING, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Authorities in China's Hebei province said Wednesday dozens of workers may have died in a chemical plant explosion as the actual body count mounted to 15.

The explosion occurred Tuesday at Hebei Keeperchemical Industries Co. Ltd. in the northern province's Zhaoxian County and as of Wednesday 13 bodies had been recovered while two other workers, earlier listed among the more than 40 workers injured, died in a hospital, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

County deputy chief Wu Haijiang said about 100 workers were in the plant at the time of the explosion and rescue work was halted Tuesday night because of concerns about more explosions.

The rest of the workers were either reported missing or feared dead at the scene, authorities said.

The explosion was so powerful it flattened one of the plant's workshops and shattered windows on structures in a radius of 1.5 miles, officials said.

Rescue work continued Wednesday.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately determined but officials said there was no risk of contamination to the public.

The $35 million chemical plant was established in 2005.

Earlier this month, a similar explosion at a state-owned steel plant in northeast China killed at least 13 people and injured 17 others.