BEIJING, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A pipeline under repair caught fire and exploded Friday near a petrochemicals plant in China's Shandong province, killing at least 22 people, officials said.
The pipeline near the major city of Qingdao blew up as workers were making repairs, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The pipeline is owned by Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.
The explosion occurred in an industrial zone near the Lidong petrochemicals plant, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The explosion wasn't a threat to the chemical facility, Xinhua said.
Local officials said the fire was extinguished after several hours.
Sinopec, along with China National Petroleum Corp., previously faced protests and other complaints from residents in several cities concerned locating major oil refineries and petrochemical plants near heavily populated areas (Qingdao has a population of 8.7 million), the Journal said.
Government officials countered that the plants are safe and necessary for economic growth.
