The accident occurred at Changlian Petrochemical's base in the Gaolan port area of Zhuhai Port, just across the border from Macau at the mouth of the Pearl River.
The workers at the terminal and nearby areas have been urgently evacuated. Currently the casualties remain unknown. According to local reports, the fire has been put out.
Changlian Petrochemical, owned by Esson New Energy Group, produces various petrochemicals at the plant including benzene, toluene and and mixed xylenes. The terminal started production in 2003 and has an annual capacity capable of producing over 1.2m tons of petrochemicals.
The company had 15 safety issues reported during an inspection conducted in July last year.
An official at Zhuhai Port told Splash that the port operations are normal and the cause of the explosion is under investigation.
The huge explosion could be heard from the western parts of Hong Kong this afternoon more than 40 km away.
Could the universe sending us a message to clean up our act not only environmentally but politically.