China blast kills 4

An explosion at a chemical plant in southern China killed 11 people, injured 57 and forced the evacuation of more than 11,500 others on Tuesday, a local government website reported.
Another eight people were missing after the blast, which touched off a raging blaze that filled the surrounding area with smoke, according to hcwang.cn, the official website of Hechi prefecture, where the plant was located.
Local authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 11,500 residents living near the plant in the Guangxi region near the border with Vietnam, it said, fearing further blasts and chemical leaks.
The website reported that the fire had been extinguished and there was just a little smoke still left in the air.
"Leaders of the region have arrived at the scene, and they are handling the accident," an official at the Guangxi Work Safety Bureau told AFP earlier.
Rescuers said several explosions were heard, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier.
One witness told the official China News Service he was sleeping when he heard a huge noise that he thought was an earthquake and he and his neighbours fled their homes out of fear the smoke was poisonous.