China factory blast death toll reaches 100

The death toll from a blast at a Chinese automotive parts factory rose to 100. More than 179 others were injured in the sudden explosion on Saturday at the eastern China factory that supplies automotive parts to US giants General Motors. China’s state media reported, the blast at the factory in the city of Kunshan in Jiangsu province left at least 100 people badly burnt. The official Xinhua News Agency said, Kunshan is about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southeast of Beijing. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage shot by residents of large plumes of thick, black smoke rising from the plant. News websites posted photos showing survivors or victims being lifted onto the back of large trucks, their bodies black presumably from burns or being covered in soot. Some survivors were seen sitting on wooden cargo platforms on the road outside the factory, their clothes apparently burned off and skin exposed or being carried into ambulances. The factory is operated by the Zhongrong Metal Products Company, a Taiwanese enterprise that according to its website was set up in 1998 and has a registered capital of $8.8 million, report agencies.