Beijing, Dec 3 (IANS)

The number of deaths in the Nov 22 oil pipeline explosion in Qingdao city in China's Shandong province have climbed to 62, rescuers said Tuesday.

According to the rescue headquarters, the toll from the oil pipeline blast rose to 62 as of Tuesday morning as the body of the last missing person was retrieved, reports Xinhua.

At least 136 people were hospitalized following the explosion, the headquarters said.

Initial reports put the death toll at 55 and the number of missing at nine. Later it was found that two of the injured had been mistakenly counted as missing, the police said.

The blast occurred Nov 22 at the crossing between Haihe and Zhaitangdao road in Huangdao district after oil leaked from a Sinopec pipeline into the municipal pipe network.

The 176-km pipeline, which links oil depots in Huangdao to Weifang city, home to a few petrochemical plants, is owned by Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.

The pipeline, with a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan ($211.8 million), became operational this August. It has an annual capacity of 15 million tonnes.