The incident occurred on Thursday morning at Yingkou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., situated in the city of Yingkou, located east of Beijing.
The city's Emergency Management Bureau issued a statement identifying the blast furnace as the source of the explosion.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is currently underway, although preliminary assessments by experts suggest that a malfunction in the equipment may have been a contributing factor, according to the official announcement.
This tragic event unfolded in close proximity to another explosion that transpired less than 12 hours earlier in Yinchuan, a city in China's northwest, where a blast at a barbecue restaurant claimed the lives of 31 people and resulted in numerous injuries. (ILKHA)