Death toll rises to 9 after explosion at north China rare earth steel plant

An explosion at a Baotou Steel Group plant in Baotou, Inner Mongolia has killed at least nine people. Shanghai-based outlet The Paper reported the force of the blast affected a railway line about 5 km away; factory valves were ejected during the explosion and landed on the tracks, causing delays and disruptions to trains passing through Baotou. Residents of a nearby village said roughly 70–80% of windows in the village’s 500–600 households were shattered. The factory primarily produces composite steel with added rare-earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, used in high-speed rail, marine engineering and military equipment. Baotou Steel Group has been repeatedly criticized by local authorities and the Ministry of Emergency Management over safety practices; a Baotou subsidiary was fined 30,000 yuan on Jan 7 for failing to eliminate potential safety hazards. The incident is under response and investigation.