SHIJIAZHUANG, May 14 (Xinhua) -- All of the 80 injured, including 14 seriously-wounded, from Friday's chemical plant blast in north China's Hebei Province, are in stable condition and evacuated villagers have returned home, according to a statement by the local government.

    "The seriously-injured workers are getting better and they are under 24-hour observation," announced Li Li, government spokeswoman for Cangzhou Dahua, where the blast occurred. "All those injured in the blast are now out of danger and 20 of them have been discharged from hospital," Li added.

    Li also noted that the 6,900 villagers who were evacuated from the immediate area surrounding the Cangzhou plant, had returned to their homes by Friday evening after local environment protection authorities confirmed that no toxins had been detected in the air.     

    "Their lives have returned to normal," remarked Li.

    Described as being "As strong as an earthquake," the blast went off at 1:40 pm on Friday, causing a fire to start in plant's workshop, leaving five workers dead and more than 100 others injured.

    Though the local government said the blast caused no leakages of toxic gas, villagers in Dazidian Village -- less than 500 meters from the plant -- have reported a strong irritating smell in the air.

    Local villagers revealed that gas leaks have occurred at the plant before -- one in 2002 and the other in 2004.

    In addition to reports of air pollution, the 2,000 cubic meters of water used by firefighters to put out the blaze and cleaning the scene of blast have also been contaminated.

    The contaminated water has been temporarily stored at the plant's pumping station. Cangzhou has been banned from discharging the toxic waste by the city's environmental authorities.

    "The environmental protection department will continue monitoring the air and water quality and publicize the result twice daily," said Li.

    Cangzhou is one of China's foremost producers of toluene disocyanate, a highly toxic chemical used in the manufacture of polyurenthane-based products such as nylon, adhesives and foams.

    The company has suspended operations at its plant and a police investigation into the exact cause of the blast is underway.