Molten zinc exploded and almost burned a factory worker at a galvanising plant in China.

CCTV footage shows an employee putting a bucket inside a furnace before the explosion in Zhejiang province on September 28.

The workers quickly fled and no one was hurt. One of them was furious with his colleague, who handed him the incorrect container, which caused the blast.

Hot metal cooled on the floor, and the employee threw a tub on the other man before there was an argument.

The Ningbo Yinzhou District Emergency Management Bureau said it is investigating the incident after managers failed to report what happened until the news broke. The bureau has ordered the factory to shut down so that safety measures can be monitored.

The complicated but dangerous process involves steel immersed in molten zinc, which bonds to the surface. However, it appears that the flux solution used to remove dirt and oil from the steel was accidentally mixed with the molten zinc, causing the explosion.