Boiler blast at NE China bean curd factory kills two, injures one

HARBIN, Feb. 10 (Chinese media) -- Two people were killed and one was injured when

a bean curd factory boiler exploded early Tuesday in northeast China's

Heilongjiang Province.

The blast occurred at about 8 a.m. at the plant in Tuanjie Township in the

Daowai district of Harbin, the provincial capital, said Xiao Weixing, a district

safety official.

One of the dead was a 57-year-old worker in charge of the steam boiler,

while the other was a middle-aged woman yet to be identified.

A coal transport worker was injured and hospitalized for treatment, but the

injuries were not life-threatening, the official said.

The factory owner was out of town but was returning to handle the accident.

The boiler passed a safety check last May, Xiao said, and the cause of the

explosion was under investigation.