Most of the 108 victims of Monday's chemical explosion in Shanghai's Huinan Town, Nanhui District, have been discharged from hospital.

The remaining six who suffered burns to their eyes and respiratory tract are now out of danger, a spokeswoman for Nanhui District government said.

An 11-year-old girl, the most seriously hurt in the accident, was transferred to Shanghai Children's Medical Center yesterday morning.

The girl, Yu Kaili, is in a stable condition. She was reported to be suffering a high fever and a hurt throat, said a doctor from the hospital.

A canister of liquid ammonia on a lorry that was parked outside a restaurant on Huidong Road exploded at about lunchtime. It exploded reportedly because it had been exposed to the searing heat for an extended period of time.

A glass window of the restaurant facing the street had a hole 30 centimeters in diameter blown into it and all the lobsters and fish in a tank nearby were killed.

Many plants along neighboring streets reportedly wilted as a result of the explosion, the Youth Daily reported.

All residents in the vicinity were evacuated. More than 100 people, including an 81-year-old woman and a 4-month-old baby suffered from inhalation, and there were complaints of headaches, nausea and eye and throat pain.

They were treated at Nanhui District Central Hospital, the Health Service Center in Xinchang Community, Renji Hospital and Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

Most of them, including the old lady and the baby, left hospital yesterday morning.

The Nanhui District government spokeswoman said the lorry belonged to the Transportation Administration Station of Fengxian District. An inquiry is currently under way into the incident.

An official from the Shanghai Municipal Safe Production Supervision Administration said that it is illegal for lorries carrying harmful or dangerous items to be left unattended.

Tests by the Shanghai Environment Bureau an hour after the blast found no residue of the toxic gas.

(China Daily July 6, 2005)