State Council orders nationwide inspection as chemical plant deaths rise to 78

School resumes on Monday

Cao, the mayor of Yancheng, said on Sunday afternoon that repair work on schools damaged in the explosion was almost completed. Classes will resume on Monday.

Parents of nearby primary schools and kindergartens received text messages that the schools would reopen on Monday morning. Teachers and government workers had cleaned the classrooms and arranged the desks in order.

Gu Wei, who works about 350 kilometers away from his home near the chemical plant, rushed home on hearing the news of the blast on Thursday. Concerned about safety, he sent his 16-year-old son to a relative's home in a nearby township soon after he arrived at home that night.

Gu said he would send his son back home, where window glass was shattered by the explosion, on Sunday evening after the school announced it would open Monday.

But the 35-year-old still has some concerns about the environment, as his home in Sigang village is only about 4 km from the chemical industry park, where the explosion occurred.

"It's a time bomb," he said.