At least 12 people were killed and 37 others seriously injured in a huge gas explosion in central China’s Hubei Province on Sunday, official media reported. The blast took place at about 6:30 am local time in the Zhangwan district of Shiyan city. Media reports said a market in the district was hard hit. Twelve
At least 12 people were killed and 37 others seriously injured in a huge gas explosion in central China’s Hubei Province on Sunday, official media reported. The blast took place at about 6:30 am local time in the Zhangwan district of Shiyan city. Media reports said a market in the district was hard hit.
Twelve people were killed and 37 others injured in the explosion which has destroyed several buildings, state-run CGTN-TV reported. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that the explosion took place at the Yanhu market in Shiyan when many residents were having breakfast or buying vegetables in the market.
The city’s municipal office initially said “many” people were trapped after the incident. Images and video footages circulating on social media platform Weibo showed rescue workers working through the wreckage of flattened houses. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Stall keepers and customers buying breakfast and fresh vegetables at a food market were the major victims when the explosion hit shortly after 6 a.m., according to state media reports.
Images showed rescuers climbing over broken concrete slabs to reach those trapped inside.
The blast appeared similar to one that occurred in the northeastern port of Qingdao in 2013, in which 55 people were killed when underground pipelines ripped open following a leak.
The Shiyan explosion came a day after eight people died and three others were injured when toxic methyl formate leaked from a vehicle at a chemical handling facility in the southwestern city of Guiyang.
Frequent deadly accidents are usually traced to weak adherence to safety standards, poor maintenance and corruption among enforcement bodies. Those responsible are often handed harsh punishments, but high demand and the desire for profits often trump such concerns.
Among the worst accidents was a massive 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers. The blast was blamed on illegal construction and unsafe storage of volatile materials.
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