SCMP reported on August 22 that as information about the chemical leak spread on social media, residents of Lac Son city, Sichuan province, southwestern China, fled by car, bicycle and anything else they could find to escape the threats they said were about to come.
A person on Weibo - a Chinese Twitter-like platform - said he had seen "dense white fog" rising from a factory in Ngu Thong Kieu district of Lac Son since the night of August 19.
As of August 21, local authorities have sought to ease people's concerns, saying they have conducted an investigation and that no toxic chemicals have been found in the air.
However, the government said that "a small amount" of hydrate chloride was leaked on the morning of August 20 from a polysilicon factory. The leak occurred when the plant's exhaust system had problems after losing water and electricity.
Despite the government's efforts to reassure the public, not everyone is convinced.
Weibo users who witnessed the dense white fog called the governments statement that there were no traces of chemicals in the air serious.
Another person presented a more scientific argument. When exposed to water, hydrogen cloride forms hyd hyd hyd hyd hydraulic acid, a powerful acid, he said. How can it be harmless to the human body? And how much is a small amount?"
Ngu Thong Kieu District is home to more than 60 large-scale chemical companies and is also one of the top 10 raw material manufacturing facilities in China.
China has experienced many disasters related to the chemical industry. In March last year, 78 people were killed and more than 600 injured after an explosion at a chemical plant in Jiangsu Province. In 2015, 173 people died when 700 tons of sodium cyanide exploded at a chemical plant in Tianjin.
The chemical leak is not the only problem that has occurred in Lac Son in recent days.
On August 18, police and volunteers had to make efforts to protect Lac Son Dai Phat from being sunk when floods on the Yangtze River caused water to rise to the foot of the giant Buddha statue.
CCTV reported that rescue forces used sandbags to build around the famous Great Buddha's Mausoleum, which was 71 meters high, as floodwaters rose to the foot of the Chinese Buddha statue for the first time in more than 70 years.
