A weekend gas-station blast in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area killed four people and injured 32 others.
The gas station on Pusan Road near Yanggao Road S. was undergoing repair work when the deadly explosion occurred at 7:50 a.m. on Saturday.
A negligent operation on the gas-storage tank caused the tragedy, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau said yesterday.
According to the investigating officers, staff should pressurize underground gas-storage tanks during the repairing process.
But on Saturday some oil and gas remained in the tank and the repairmen pressurized it excessively, resulting in the explosion.
The security supervision authority is still investigating whether the repairmen had been professionally trained and received qualifications. The injured who were taken to Pudong’s Punan and Renji hospitals are all out of danger.
Two remain in hospital, one suffering from head injuries and under observation in Punan and the other waiting for an operation for a bone break in Renji.
The other 30 victims were released from the hospitals later on Saturday.
The fatalities were two repairmen, Gan Yanjun, 30, from Anhui Province and Zhu Yunsheng, 46, from Jiangsu Province, motorcycle taxi rider Wang Dong, 29, and a female cyclist, Shan Chunlian, 42.
The property damage from the accident remains unclear, however nearby buildings and cars parked about 20 to 30 meters away suffered severe damage.
According to witnesses, heavy smoke and thick dust rose from the gas station following a loud blast. Stones and windows were blown into the air and smashed against the ground.
Song Bo, a motorcycle taxi rider, survived the tragedy thanks to his helmet. “I was waiting with three other motorcycle taxi riders for customers near a bus stop on Pusan Road,” Song said. “Suddenly there was a deafening sound, and I saw the air filled with mud, smoke and flying rocks. I felt rocks smashing onto my helmet.”
Wang, from Anhui Province, was making a cell-phone call at the time and was not wearing a helmet. He was hit by a block of reinforced concrete and killed.
Shan, an Anhui native, was hit by flying rocks on Changli Road E., several hundred meters from the explosion site.
“She was passing by a bakery and suddenly fell off,” said a pedestrian surnamed Yuan. “I thought she suffered a heart attack and immediately approached to help. But I saw her trembling on the ground and unable to speak. There was a big hole in her forehead, shedding blood.”
A neighborhood resident, surnamed Gu, was going downstairs when he heard the blast. “My windows were smashed to pieces and there was a hole in the ceiling,” he said.
Gu said he spotted a hole about a meter deep inside the gas station.
The Shanghai Emergency Response Center sent police, firemen, medical staff and civil defense officers to the scene.
By Saturday afternoon traffic around the accident area returned to normal.
Some residents in the area expressed safety concerns in the wake of the blast, particularly about people making cell-phone calls in gas stations, a prohibited practice.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
