Deaths as major explosion flattens part of Chinese port city
Buildings collapse and vehicles destroyed as explosion in eastern port city of Ningbo leaves more than 30 casualties
A factory explosion in a port city south of Shanghai on Sunday killed at least two people and injured at least 30 others as it knocked down buildings and left streets littered with damaged cars and debris, news reports said.
The explosion struck a factory in a riverfront neighborhood in Ningbo, one of China’s busiest ports, the official Xinhua News Agency and other outlets reported. A police statement said the cause of the 8.55am blast was under investigation.
Television images showed cars twisted and mangled by the force of the explosion, a plume of grey smoke rising in the sky, and debris scattered for dozens of metres around the site of the incident.
A major explosion hit China’s eastern port city of Ningbo sent dozens to hospitals, destroyed vehicles and triggered the collapse of nearby buildings. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Footage showed rescuers wearing helmets carrying injured people away from the area, while others stood over a person lying on the ground.
According to CCTV, eyewitnesses said there were “a large number of injured people” in the city, one of China’s largest ports, which sits just south of Shanghai.
At least 30 people were taken to the local hospital and rescue efforts were continuing, the report said.
The Communist Party’s People’s Daily said on Twitter that no one lived at site of the explosion but garbage collectors might have been working there.
Tianjin explosions so huge they were visible from space
An enquiry has been launched to determine the cause of the explosion, the local police in Jiangbei district, where the blast happened, said on social media.
Industrial accidents are common in
China, where safety standards are often lax.
In 2015, giant blasts killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin, causing over $1 billion in damage and sparking widespread anger over a perceived lack of transparency by officials about the accident’s causes and environmental impact.
A government inquiry into the Tianjin accident released in February 2016 recommended 123 people be punished.
The official who was mayor at the time of the accident was sentenced to 12 years in prison for graft in September.
Huang Xingguo, 62, had also headed the disaster response committee.
AFP and AP contributed to this report
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-chinese-port-city-injures-dozens-say-reports
Factory explosion in China port kills two, injures 30
BEIJING – A factory explosion in a port city south of Shanghai on Sunday killed two people and injured at least 30 others as it knocked down buildings and left streets littered with damaged cars and debris, news reports said.
The explosion struck a factory in a riverfront neighborhood in Ningbo, one of China’s busiest ports, the official Xinhua News Agency and other outlets reported. A police statement said the cause of the 8:55 a.m. blast was under investigation.
Two people were killed, news reports said, citing a city government statement. They gave no details.
At least 30 others were taken to hospitals, according to
Huanqiu.com, a website operated by the newspaper Global Times. It also gave no details of their injuries.
China suffers frequent deadly fires and industrial accidents, often blamed on negligence.
Official safety crackdowns have improved conditions in some areas but many companies still cut corners. In 2015, an explosion traced to improperly stored chemicals killed at least 173 people in Tianjin, a port east of Beijing.
Sunday’s blast knocked down residential buildings but those were vacant and in the process of being demolished,
Huanqiu.com said. It said there might have been people in the area collecting scrap for recycling.
Bystanders said the explosion might have been caused by a gas pipeline that was damaged during demolition work, but the Ningbo gas company said it had no lines in the area, the newspaper China Youth Daily reported on its website.
Photos on
News.163.com showed an injured woman being carried away on a man’s back and what appeared to be the body of man lying in the debris of a wrecked building. Video clips on multiple websites showed a white cloud of smoke rising above the explosion site and rolling across nearby buildings.
A photo on
news.ifeng.com showed a room in an industrial building with a floor-to-ceiling hole blown through an exterior wall.
Other photos showed apartments with windows blown out and glass littering the floors.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...china-port-kills-two-injures-30/#.Whp51rhm7so
