9 in police custody after pipeline blasts

QINGDAO - Nine people have been put in police custody after oil pipeline leakage and blasts killed 55 people in east China's coastal city of Qingdao, police said Tuesday.

Seven of them are from Sinopec, the country's largest oil refinery which owns the pipeline, and two from the city's economic and technological development zone, said the police investigating the accident.

The blasts on Friday also left nine people missing and injured more than 160 others.

Related:

Chinese President Xi visits pipeline blast survivors

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited people injured in the deadly oil pipeline blast in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Sunday, expressing concerns about production safety.

Pipeline blast termed as 'very serious dereliction of duty'

The deadly oil pipeline blasts in East China's Shandong province on Friday exposed three severe problems of human errors, and the accident was a "very serious dereliction of duty", a senior official in charge of the country's work safety said Monday.

Death toll rises to 55 from oil pipeline blast

The death toll from Friday's oil pipeline blast in East China's Shandong province has risen to 55 with nine people still missing and 136 hospitalized, investigators said Monday.