The story appears on

Page A8

September 12, 2013

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeNation

Warehouse blast death toll hits 8

The death toll from Tuesday’s explosion at a streetside warehouse rose to eight in Guangzhou, the city government announced yesterday evening.

The blast occurred at a roadside storehouse in Baiyun District. An initial investigation confirmed a container truck exploded while workers were unloading revolving chambers filled with gunpowder for toy pistols, which have been banned in China, the city government said in a press release. Goods in the warehouse caught fire after the explosion.

The government called the explosion “an accident.”

Three people have been detained, including a Jordanian citizen, the owner of the goods, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of the victims were manual laborers at the scene, the statement said. 

Another 36 people were injured in the accident. Of those, 15 had been discharged from hospital while the others were listed in a stable condition.

The Zengbao Warehouse, which covers an area of 8,000 square meters, is mainly used to store shoes, clothes, hardware and electrical appliances.

Worker Fan Zengyin was about 50 meters from where the explosion occurred, but his son, Fan Zukun, also a worker at the warehouse, was killed in the blast.

“Most of the people working here are migrant workers. The business is open to everyone. Once a vehicle arrives, we come up for a job and get paid a piece rate. My son had worked here for about 20 days,” Fan told Xinhua.

“Usually, goods are wrapped in sacks. We have no idea what’s inside, and we are not allowed to pry,” he said.

The warehouse opened in 2005. Regular renters include foreigners, according to He Shunqiang, a local official.

The storehouse is subject to inspections at least once a month, added He.

 


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend