Smoke and fire engulfs a chemical plant after an explosion in Xinyang, Central China's Henan province, Oct 9, 2012. The blast happened at 1 pm on Tuesday and the fire continued to burn for one hour before firefighters arrived. The number of casualties, if any, remains unknown. [Picture taken by a passing motorist/news.dahe.cn]

Smoke engulfs a chemical plant after an explosion in Xinyang, Central China's Henan province, Oct 9, 2012.[Photo/news.dahe.cn]