20 die in gas tanker explosion
By Li Qian |
June 30, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWENTY people died when a tanker loaded with 40 tons of gasoline collided with a truck on an expressway in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou yesterday morning.
At least two of 14 people injured in the explosion and the massive fire that followed suffered severe burns.
Some of the dead were workers at a timber processing plant near the scene, and others were local residents.
The two drivers survived and are being treated in hospital where they are both said to be in a stable condition.
The accident happened at about 4:30am on the Yanjiang Expressway in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong Province.
Gasoline leaking into drainage ditches triggered a fire in the timber plant close to the expressway at 5:15am, Guangzhou government officials said.
The blaze spread over some 2,000 square meters of the surrounding area.
Dozens of vehicles parked at the plant and a fire engine were damaged in the fire.
Many workers fell victim to the explosion and their bodies were badly burned, Guangzhou Daily reported. One worker who survived, surnamed Zhu, said he saw a fireball hit the plant. He suffered burns all over his back.
A local resident identified as Chole-Lam online said he and his neighbors were woken by a huge explosion. "I thought the end of the world might have come."
It took 185 firefighters and rescue workers about four hours to bring the blaze under control, officials said.
The injured were taken to hospital while several hearses from a Guangzhou funeral house arrived to take the bodies away.
The Guangzhou Blood Center issued an appeal for blood donors.
The oil tanker driver surnamed Zhou, 38, and the truck driver surnamed Liu, 35, are said to have been detained by police. Both vehicles carried plates from central China's Hunan Province.
The wreckage had been cleared by yesterday afternoon and the scene was cordoned off.
The Guangzhou government said a team of professionals had been mobilized to check the expressway to ensure that it was safe to reopen to traffic.
At least two of 14 people injured in the explosion and the massive fire that followed suffered severe burns.
Some of the dead were workers at a timber processing plant near the scene, and others were local residents.
The two drivers survived and are being treated in hospital where they are both said to be in a stable condition.
The accident happened at about 4:30am on the Yanjiang Expressway in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong Province.
Gasoline leaking into drainage ditches triggered a fire in the timber plant close to the expressway at 5:15am, Guangzhou government officials said.
The blaze spread over some 2,000 square meters of the surrounding area.
Dozens of vehicles parked at the plant and a fire engine were damaged in the fire.
Many workers fell victim to the explosion and their bodies were badly burned, Guangzhou Daily reported. One worker who survived, surnamed Zhu, said he saw a fireball hit the plant. He suffered burns all over his back.
A local resident identified as Chole-Lam online said he and his neighbors were woken by a huge explosion. "I thought the end of the world might have come."
It took 185 firefighters and rescue workers about four hours to bring the blaze under control, officials said.
The injured were taken to hospital while several hearses from a Guangzhou funeral house arrived to take the bodies away.
The Guangzhou Blood Center issued an appeal for blood donors.
The oil tanker driver surnamed Zhou, 38, and the truck driver surnamed Liu, 35, are said to have been detained by police. Both vehicles carried plates from central China's Hunan Province.
The wreckage had been cleared by yesterday afternoon and the scene was cordoned off.
The Guangzhou government said a team of professionals had been mobilized to check the expressway to ensure that it was safe to reopen to traffic.
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