Four killed, five injured in explosion at steel mill in northeast China

A blast furnace exploded Thursday morning at the Yingkou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. in Yingkou, east of Beijing in Liaoning province.

An explosion at a steel mill in China's northeast killed four people and left five hospitalized with injuries, the city government said Friday.

The disaster occurred less than 12 hours after an explosion Wednesday evening blamed on cooking gas killed 31 people in a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan. (Representational purporse) (REUTERS)

A blast furnace exploded Thursday morning at the Yingkou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. in Yingkou, east of Beijing in Liaoning province, the city's Emergency Management Bureau said in a statement.

The cause was under investigation, but experts believe an equipment malfunction was to blame, the announcement said.

Phone calls to the Yingkou government Friday weren't answered.

The disaster occurred less than 12 hours after an explosion Wednesday evening blamed on cooking gas killed 31 people in a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, a city in China's northwest.