Explosion at Chinese battery recycling plant kills one and injures 20

Company apologises and offers condolences to victims and families

The blast happened at a battery-recycling centre (stock image) (AFP via Getty Images)

One person was killed and 20 injured in a huge explosion at a Chinese battery-recycling plant, authorities in the country say.

The blast sent a mushroom cloud into the air and sparked a fire that could be seen from several kilometres away, China News reported.

The explosion, in a workshop in Ningxiang city, in the southern province of Hunan, was caused by waste aluminium foil catching fire, factory chiefs said.

A total of 288 firefighters and soldiers from 36 fire lorries were sent to the scene.  

Six people who were seriously injured and 14 with minor injuries were all taken to hospital.  

Guangdong  Brunp Recycling Technology, which runs the plant, said it doused the blaze following the explosion.  

In a statement, it apologised for the impact of the accident and offered condolences to victims and their families. An official statement from Ningde, home to parent company CATL, said lessons would be learnt. 

China News said that monitoring showed the ambient air quality around the plant was normal but that “aftermath work” was in progress.

Hunan Bangpu Recycling is China’s largest national high-tech firm for recycling lithium batteries and the production of high-end battery materials, China News said.

In 2019, an explosion at a chemical plant in Jiangsu in China killed 47 people and injured more than 600 others.