Shockwave pinned worker to the floor
Print Edition
THE massive force of the shockwave from one of the blasts in Tianjin hurled Hua Hongwei a few meters, and then pinned him to the ground.
The factory worker in his 20s, speaking from a hospital bed, recounted how he was lucky to survive the explosions that rocked his dormitory, about a kilometer from the industrial area.
A few moments earlier, he had stepped out onto his balcony to check the scene after the first blast. He then returned inside just as the massive second explosion sent a fireball over the city.
“I didn’t understand what was happening,” Hua said, recounting how he flew through the room and was crushed to the floor.
He stumbled out of the building where a friend found him and gave him some water. He was put in a taxi and taken to hospital.
The second explosion was about seven times more powerful than the first one that had jolted Hua from his bed.
Hua, his head bandaged, was one of dozens of victims being treated at the TEDA Hospital.
Young volunteers distributed bottles of water to weeping relatives in the hospital’s hallways. Outside, volunteers set up tents, serving bowls of meat and vegetables.
A long line of taxis, calling themselves the “love team” with red ribbons tied around their antennas, offered free rides to family members.
Like Hua, many of the victims said at first they did not realize what was happening.
“I saw fire burning and then: Boom! There was an explosion. My first reaction was to run as fast as I could and get down on the ground to save my life,” said Wu Dejun, 38, a hairstylist. “When I escaped, I had blood all over me.”
Song Jianyong, who works for a logistics company in the industrial area, feared the worst for his colleagues.
“Our office was just next door to the blast site and all my colleagues who are missing were working at that time,” Song said. “We’ve gone to all the hospitals in downtown Tianjin and I’m really anxious.”
He has been checking lists of patients every hour since the blasts. None of his colleagues’ names has appeared.
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