State media now says at least 35 people were killed and more than 160 others injured when an oil pipeline exploded in eastern China. Earlier reports spoke of 22 dead.<br /><br />The blast pulverised part of the city of Qingdao in Shandong province, home to one of China’s largest crude oil import terminals, causing a fire that took hours to bring under control.<br /><br />Local authorities say it happened as workers were trying to repair leaks in the underground pipeline, owned by Chinese oil refiner Sinopec. State TV reported that an oil spill <br />had spread across 3,000 square metres of sea water.<br /><br />A Chinese trader warned the explosion would disrupt crude flows into China as the blast involved a major pipeline supplying several refineries.<br /><br />With terrorism ruled out by authorities, an investigation is underway to establish what went wrong. <br /><br />Nearly 28,000 people have been killed in industrial accidents in China in the first six months of this year, according to official figures.
