China pipeline blast: Death toll rises to 62

Beijing: The death toll from an oil pipeline blast in Qingdao City of China's eastern Shandong Province rose to 62 after the body of the last missing person was retrieved, rescue officials said today. About 136 people were hospitalised and 14 were discharged from hospital earlier, they said.[caption id="attachment_1263505" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image. AFP.[/caption]Initial reports put the death toll at 55 and the number of missing at 9. Two victims had been mistakenly counted as missing, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted police as saying. Crude oil began leaking from the underground pipeline operated by Sinopec in Qingdao's Huangdao District.The spill then flowed into the city's sewage network, which empties into the Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions ripped through residential and commercial roads in Huangdao on November 22 while workers were clearing the spill.PTI