Shavkat Mirziyoyev offers condolences to Xi Jinping over explosion in Yancheng 

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has expressed condolences to the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping on the numerous human victims as a result of the explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, the presidential press service said.

The explosion occurred on Thursday. According to local media it killed at least 47 people and severely injured 90 others.

Drone footage from the country's emergency management ministry shows an industrial area outside Yancheng city in Jiangsu province covered in firefighting foam, with storage tanks turned to twisted metals and charred factory buildings with roofs torn open.

Local authorities said earlier that dozens of fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scene after the blast was reported around 2 p.m. Thursday. The explosion was powerful enough for the seismological bureau to detect a small earthquake in the area, according to state media.