Death toll from China's oil pipeline blast rises to 44

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the site of a pipeline explosion in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 22, 2013. A fire broke out and the blast occurred around 10 a.m. in the Huangdao District when workers were repairing a petroleum pipeline which broke and resulted in an oil leakage around 3 a.m. Casualties remained unknown. (Xinhua)

The death toll from an oil pipeline explosion in eastern Chinese city of Qingdao has risen to 44 from 35, local authorities said on Saturday.

Another 136 injured people have been hospitalized, rescue headquarters said, adding that rescue work is still going on.

The blast occurred at 10:30 a.m on Friday in Huangdao District of Qingdao, after oil leaked from a Sinopec pipeline flowed into the municipal pipe network, an initial investigation showed.