Beijing (dpa) – An explosion killed at least 13 people and injured 43 at a chemical plant in northern China's Hebei province on Tuesday, the government said. The blast ripped through a workshop at a chemical plant run by the Hebei Keeperchemical Industries Co in Hebei's Zhaoxian county, the State Administration of Work Safety reported. State media said the force of the explosion destroyed the workshop and shattered windows up to two kilometers away. The factory made pesticides, but there was “no risk of contamination” following the explosion, Xinhua news agency quoted local public security official Cheng Weiqing as saying. But it quoted nearby residents as saying that the factory only employed older, married men because its products were “highly toxic.” Cheng said local hospitals were treating the injured workers, while provincial officials and safety investigators were examining the cause of the blast. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/KJyin Tags: Blast, Chemical Plant, China Section: East Asia, Latest News