18,000 evacuated from pipeline blast district

QINGDAO - A total of 18,000 people have been evacuated from a district in East China's port city of Qingdao, where an oil spill-triggered blast has killed at least 47 people, local authorities said Saturday.

The local government distributed 2,000 candles to residents in Huangdao District on Friday night after oil leaked from a Sinopec pipeline, flowed into the municipal pipe network, and caused an explosion at 10:30 am on Friday.

Water, gas and electricity were cut off in parts of the district after Friday's blast. The local government distributed 40,000 servings of free food for breakfast and lunch on Saturday.

It has also provided water for local residents since Friday night, with an additional 17 tonnes of vegetables allocated to the local market.

So far, electricity has been restored in all but two communities in the district, the local government said.