A fire at a Beijing power plant on Friday 13th March was caused by a blast in the generator unit, an initial investigation showed.

Built in the late 1990s, it is the largest thermal power station in China. It produces about 10 percent of Beijing’s total power supply. No outages have been reported as a result of the fire. It is a work safety accident, said Beijing fire authorities.

The power plant is operated by one of China’s leading power producers, Huaneng Group.

The blast happened at the No.2 generating unit of the plant, when the hydrogen used for cooling and the oil in operation triggered the explosion. It led to the shutdown of all the four units. Local police said their helicopters noticed smoke coming from the thermal power plant in Chaoyang District during routine patrol at around 2:50 p.m. Friday. They dispatched rescue and fire engines to the site.

Ten fire brigades and a total of 91 fire trucks where used to contain the fire. The fire is under control and no casualties have been reported. Further investigation into the cause of the blast continues.