E China chemical plant fire extinguished

JINAN - The fire that raged at a chemical plant in East China's Shandong province for about 11 hours was put out on Sunday morning. No casualties or toxic gas leaks have been reported, local authorities said.

The fire started at 4:45 pm Saturday in the Luxi Chemical Plant in Liaocheng city. It was extinguished by 3:36 am on Sunday, fire fighters said.

After monitoring of air quality, local environmental protection authorities said the accident did not cause any toxic gas leakages.

The fire-fighting foam and water used to extinguish the fire have been directed into a pool inside the plant for environmental emergency disposal, and environmental protection authorities are testing for toxic chemicals.

Authorities said no toxic substances have been detected in the air so far.

Local authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

The factory produces refined chemicals such as sulfuric acid and chemical fertilizer.