Blast in Fujian kills at least 22 ( 2003-08-28 07:01) (China Daily)
A blast in a residential area in a village in East
China's Fujian Province on Tuesday night claimed 22 lives, injured 30 and had
left several others missing by press time yesterday.
A local resident weeps as a
firefighter tries to quell the fire.
The
explosion, which occurred around 10:40 pm in Shadi Village, in Minhou County of
the province, destroyed five residential buildings, while more than 20 other
buildings suffered varying degrees of damage.
Villagers said that the explosion occurred in the residence of villager Zhao
Guanding, who allegedly stored firecrackers inside the building secretly.
"We would not have allowed him to store the dangerous products in our village
had we known,'' said one villager who gave only his surname Zhao.
It is still unclear where and how Zhao Guanding bought the firecrackers.
All the injured have been hospitalized, three of them are still in serious
condition.
the wreckage of
the blast
Rescue workers are still looking for other victims trapped in the rubble.
According to armed police among the rescue workers at the site, on receiving
reports of the accident, armed police, firemen, police and traffic police from
Minhou County and Fuzhou, capital city of Fuzhou Province, rushed to the site
around 1:00 am.
The three injured that were taken to Fujian Provincial Hospital are all in
stable condition.
Lin Zhuying was semi-conscious 10 hours after an operation on her injured
left eye, in the provincial hospital.
"Since Lin's mother-in-law died and her husband and son suffered broken bones
in the explosion, I was asked to come to look after her,'' said Lin's sister.
The blast was so powerful that residents in the downtown area of Fuzhou, some
15 kilometres away from the site, felt the ground shake.
Buildings along the main road, some 100 metres north of the explosion site,
had all their windows broken and the aluminium window frames were destroyed as
well.
"As far as I know, some 10 villagers and 14 to 15 workers from other cities
died in the blast,'' said Zhao.
According to Zhao, his village has around 7,000 residents.
"The family of Zhao Yiqiang suffered the most, losing eight of its 12
members, including his wife, daughters and sons,'' said Zhao.
The family lives next to the residence where the blast occurred.
Currently, police are conducting an inquiry among Zhao Guanding's relatives
who were guarding the residence when the blast occurred.
The police are still searching for Zhao Guanding.
The government is further investigating the cause of the blast.
