Fire crews have been tackling a massive fire at a petrochemical plant in Shanghai with the sky lit up by flames following reports of explosions.
Evacuations took place at the facility in the the Jinshan District after a fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning, the fire department reportedly said.
Shanghai Petrochemical Company confirmed that the fire broke out just after 4am local time and that an emergency plan was immediately put into action.
There are several areas of the facility that appear to be on fire while Chinese state media said there had been one death.
It is reported that there were several explosions and authorities have said 10 robotic fire pumps have been used on the blaze.
Many people have taken to social media to show the flames ripping through the chemical plant in the south west of the city while residents have also said how they felt their homes shake with the force of explosions.
People have been fleeing the area in the chaos caused by the huge blaze leading to traffic congestion.
Shanghai Fire Protection News reportedly stated: "A fire broke out in the ethylene glycol plant of a petrochemical company on Long'an East Road, Jinshan District, Shanghai.
"After receiving the alarm, the Municipal 119 Command Centre quickly dispatched rescue forces such as from Jinshan and Fengxian to the chemical industry zone.
"The crews are currently on the site and tackling the blaze."
With the blaze alight for several hours the sky over Shanghai is looking black from the smoke clouds, according to social media videos from the city.
Shanghai Petrochemical Company have now tweeted to say that fire has been contained.
It stated: "After the fire broke out, Shanghai Petrochemical simultaneously launched an environmental emergency plan, and continued to carry out environmental monitoring on the company's factory boundary and external areas, and the monitoring of volatile organic compounds showed it was normal.
"Arrangements have been made to strengthen the sampling and monitoring of rainwater outlets, and no impact on the surrounding water environment has been found. At present, the on-site fire has been effectively controlled and protective burning is being implemented."
