China Chemical Plant Explosion: 78 dead; full impact on residents and environment still uncertain

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03:13

Now to the latest on the chemical plant explosion in Xiangshui County of Eastern China's Jiangsu Province. As of today, the accident has so far left 78 people dead and nearly 80 severely injured, and as rescue work nears its conclusion, questions on the full impact of the incident remain unanswered. CGTN's Xu Mengqi has more.

In the aftermath of one of China's worst industrial accidents. More than 36 acres of land contaminated. Dozens of houses damaged beyond repair, and families torn apart. Who is to blame?

XU MENGQI XIANGSHUI, JIANGSU "On both sides of the Guan River, lie a dense concentration of chemical plants, situated in three industrial parks. For local authorities and residents, their existence is a dilemma they have faced for years: on the one hand, they have accidents resulting in death, injuries, and environmental pollution; but on the other, they are the pillars of local economic development."

62-year-old Wu Liliang had been working in one of the factories in the affected industrial park for 6 years. He says that multiple accidents had led local authorities to inspect the chemical plants from time to time. But between the two, it's a game of cat-and-mouse.

WU LILIANG CHEMICAL PLANT WORKER "The factories all operate secretly. If we are working and the inspectors come, they'll say hurry, shut down the factory, and we hide ourselves so the inspectors won't see us."

Wu's finger tips are all colored by the chemicals his factory was producing. And previously during minor accidents, he had felt lucky that it wasn't his plant, but this time, things have changed.

WU LILIANG CHEMICAL PLANT WORKER "We all know it's chronic suicide to work in a chemical plant, but I had no choice. This was the job I took. But now I just wish the industrial park was gone. That will put everyone at ease."

The affected industrial park is now completely sealed, but the environmental impact of chemical leaks resulting from this accident will take much longer to reveal.

TU YONG, CHIEF ENGINEER JIANGSU PROVINCIAL ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE "After the emergency response comes to an end, we will divide the site into areas with different degrees of contamination, and then according to that we will make specific plans for further investigation."

Several kilometers away from ground zero, schools have already opened, after authorities have confirmed that air quality is now within a normal level.

Psychological counselors were brought in to help the children make sense of what happened.

And in one of the classes, a teacher tells his pupils that "storms are often followed by sunshine." But for these innocent kids, it may take years before they can fully understand what the storm really meant.

XMQ, CGTN, Xiangshui, Jiangsu province.