Death toll rises to 7 in Hebei blast

Authorities in Hebei province have demanded related departments quickly ascertain the cause of an explosion that killed seven people and injured 27 others on Wednesday in Langfang, and take effective measures to prevent similar incidents.

The explosion occurred at 7:54 am near Xiaozhanggezhuang village in Sanhe, which is about 40 kilometers from downtown Beijing.

A preliminary investigation has concluded that a gas pipeline leak was the likely cause, according to Liu Fulai, head of the investigation team.

Liu said that the exact location of the explosion within the building that housed the fried chicken restaurant is still under investigation. The gas leak is believed to have occurred underground, and efforts are underway to pinpoint the exact location of the leak.

By early Thursday morning the site had been basically cleaned up. All the injured were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and 14 have been discharged, a statement issued by Sanhe's emergency management bureau on Thursday said.

Follow-up work at the site is being urgently conducted, according to a Hebei Daily report.

"I heard related departments are conducting surveys about the losses of nearby shops and residents, but I haven't seen my shop yet because the area was cordoned off," said a man surnamed Liu in his 30s who worked at Tanxiaoyu, a 24-hour snooker hall next to the site of the explosion.

Liu said he felt lucky he was not at the hall when the blast occurred, and neither were his colleagues or guests.

"Most of our customers come to play in the afternoon and night," he said, adding that most nearby shops do not open that early.

Another man, surnamed Zhou, runs a shop selling Hunan cuisine that is about 200 meters from the blast site.

"I had planned to go to my shop at 10 am as usual, but then heard about the incident," Zhou said, adding that though he had not seen his shop, he believed it had not been affected much by the explosion.

"I went to nearby areas today and heard that local authorities are conducting assessments for buildings and safety," Zhou said.

On-site personnel quoted by Hebei Daily advised non-professional rescue forces not to enter the site to avoid secondary injuries, which could disrupt the orderly progress of various tasks.

On Thursday morning, local authorities in Sanhe apologized to the media for forcing them out of the site, especially mentioning that several reporters from China Media Group were forced out during interviews, according to a statement published by Sanhe's command headquarters for handling the incident.

On Wednesday night, a video clip showed two or three CMG reporters being pushed away during their interviews by a dozen male personnel at the blast site.

"Due to the poor communication skills and the use of rough methods by our on-site personnel, misunderstandings and public questioning arose from their conduct, leading to adverse social effects," the statement said, adding "we feel deeply responsible and extend our apologies to journalists".

It added that as rescue work progressed, experts with the command headquarters conducted professional assessments and discovered that there were risks of natural gas leaks at the scene, advising that all non-rescue personnel be evacuated, and during this process, journalists who persisted in reporting from the scene were forcibly led out of the site.

zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn