The State Council, China's Cabinet, set up a special investigation group for the blast. The group on Saturday said the probe would be thorough and with no leniency. It also severely criticized the local government and the company involved for not learning lessons from previous environmental violations and failing to make effective rectifications.

Official records show that the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Company, where the explosion took place, had been punished several times previously for using safety loopholes and violating environmental protection regulations. Chenjiagang Chemical Park experienced several similar safety accidents in past years, too.

On Saturday, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Jiangsu Provincial Committee, the province's top leadership, held a meeting on measures to be taken.

Lou Qinjian, Party chief of Jiangsu, said at the meeting that the province should learn the "bloody lesson" and "retrospect from the soul".

The incident is the result of poor implementation of the responsibility system for production safety, as well as bureaucracy and formalism in supervision, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Jiangsu immediate launched safety inspections on chemical production, transportation and storage facilities after the incident. Operations will be suspended once any safety hazard is spotted. If a company fails to eliminate the hazards in a specified time, it will be shut down. Those who are responsible for rectification work will be held accountable for life, the statement said.