BEIJING: A septic tank was the epicenter of a massive explosion that rocked one of China’s largest port cities over the weekend, killing two people and injuring at least 19, authorities have said.
The blast tore through a crumbling light-industrial area adjacent to crowded residential towers in the city of Ningbo, just south of Shanghai, and was so powerful that it was heard several kilometers away.
The force of the explosion shattered windows in nearby apartments, mangled cars and reduced small buildings at the epicenter to rubble, though locals said the structures were already in poor shape and slated for demolition.
Public security officials “have confirmed that the blast’s epicenter is a septic tank in an empty field,” the local government said in a statement late Sunday.
Methane and hydrogen sulfide — both highly flammable gases — can build up in septic tanks.
Officials have ruled out the possibility of a gas explosion or of the blast being intentionally set off by someone.
The statement said in addition to the two fatalities, two people are missing after the explosion. Four people were severely injured and 15 others had minor wounds.
“We were having tea and bwaaaah! It knocked my mother off her stool. It was incredibly loud,” said a local woman who lives about 400 meters (400 yards) from the blast site and who gave only her surname, Wu.
Authorities had thrown up a cordon around the collapsed buildings and were still investigating the cause of the explosion in Ningbo.
An elderly woman said one of her children was in the area at the time of the blast.
“Yes, we live here and one of my children is still inside (the cordoned-off area) and hasn’t been found yet,” she said, declining to give details.
She dabbed tears with a tissue and repeatedly dialed a number on her phone. Asked who she was calling, she said, “my child.”
Early Monday, locals were sweeping up piles of debris and glass at the blast site where rubble was strewn across an area several hundred meters wide.
The government said it had received hundreds of reports of damage, such as shattered glass, twisted window frames or damaged cars.
Trending
- Cleaners are the most important people of our society: Rai Muhammad Akbar
- Javed Badhanvi presides over an important meeting regarding the resettlement of 1989 refugees
- Illegal encroachments will not be tolerated under any circumstances: CEO Syed Ali Irfan Razvi
- Annual Siraj Al-Manira Conference holds at Masjid Hayat-ul-Nabi, Oldham, 2024.
- EKKE Rahman left Manchester on April 21, to reach Nepal, and after he will leave for Pakistan
- LIIBS 7th Edition, Unites Stakeholders for Collaborating for Growth
- Gwadar under water
- Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran