"As of 07:00 a. m. on Saturday [23:00 GMT on Friday], 64 people have died as a result of a blast at a chemical plant in the Jiangsu province. We have managed to identify 26 of them," Sputnik quoted Cao Lubao as saying.
The mayor added that 617 people had asked for medical assistance after the incident, including 523 people who had sustained various injuries due to the blast. Cao noted that 143 people were still receiving medical treatment on Saturday.
The powerful blast hit the facility on Thursday, leading to multiple casualties and the evacuation of thousands of people from the area.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has told Sputnik it had no data on whether there were foreign nationals among those affected by the blast.
MNA/Sputnik