An explosion at a chemical plant in Shandong province in eastern China on Tuesday has killed five people with a further six still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The explosion, which occurred at a site owned by Shandong Youdao Chemical in Gaomi city just before noon, also left 19 people injured.

The local emergency management bureau said on-site search and rescue operations and clean-up work had continued into the night.

The cause is yet to be determined.

The accident created a large fireball and sent clouds of smoke hundreds of metres into the air. Residents reported hearing a loud bang and said the blast had shattered the windows of many houses.

Thepaper.cn spoke to one local resident who said his house had been “shaken” by the blast.

He said that he was inside his home at the time and the windows had been shattered and objects sent flying around the house.

The man added that the streets were covered with broken glass and electrical appliances that had been blown out of residents’ homes.

Local fire and rescue authorities dispatched 55 vehicles and 232 personnel to the scene while the national Ministry of Emergency Management deployed national fire and rescue teams along with specialised workplace emergency response units to assist in the operation.

Shandong Youdao Chemical, which was established in 2019 and now has a workforce of over 300 people, producing pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other related chemical products.

According to publicly available information, the company is the world’s largest producer of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, producing around 11,000 tonnes a year.