HEFEI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A chemical plant in east China's Anhui Province has been cited for a "relatively serious" workplace safety incident after four workers died from gas poisoning and suffocation late last year, local emergency authorities announced on Saturday.
The accident occurred at an Anhui Xintai New Materials Co. facility in Chizhou at 8:12 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2025. While replacing frozen brine in a storage tank, workers were exposed to toxic gases, resulting in four fatalities and direct economic losses of nearly 6.09 million yuan (869,032 U.S. dollars).
According to an official investigation report, the immediate cause of the accident was an employee, surnamed Zhang, violating confined-space safety regulations. Zhang entered the frozen brine tank without a permit and had not taken any safety isolation measures, ventilated the space, conducted gas detection or worn an air-tight breathing device. He was fatally overcome by high concentrations of nitrogen and other gases.
The casualties rose when other workers attempted to rescue Zhang without taking appropriate protective measures, according to the report.
Indirect causes included weak safety management by the company, a failure to control special operations procedures, and inadequate chemical plant safety oversight by local government and relevant government departments.
Following the investigation, three individuals, including the company's chairman, have been taken into police custody. ■
