China's Jiangsu to launch inspections on chemical producers after blast - official media

Smoke billows from fire following an explosion at the pesticide plant owned by Tianjiayi Chemical, in Xiangshui county, Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's eastern Jiangsu province will launch inspections on chemical producers and warehouses after a deadly blast in the city of Yancheng, according to an emergency notice published by official media on Friday.

An explosion at a pesticide plant in the province has killed 44 people and injured more than 600, the latest in a series of industrial accidents that has angered the Chinese public.

The notice, published on the news website of Jiangsu province's Communist party, said the government will shut down any chemical firms found not complying with regulations on dangerous chemicals.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Dominique Patton; editing by Richard Pullin)