PetroChina gas pipeline blast kills nine
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-21 15:17

An explosion on a gas pipeline in China's southwestern Sichuan province on Friday killed nine and injured at least 10, Xinhua news agency said.

The pipeline in Renshou county belonged to a unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., but gas supplies were not seriously affected, its listed unit PetroChina said on its Web site.

Local officials said the midday explosion hit a pumping station on the line between the towns of Wangyang and Wengong.

"The fire has been extinguished and the gas supply is not seriously affected. Executives from PetroChina headquarters are leading a working group to the accident site," the PetroChina statement said.

CNPC said at a recent working meeting it aimed not to have any serious accidents in the five years through 2010. China's National Safety Administration Bureau defines major accidents as those causing more than 10 deaths.