Commuters are burned, pelted with debris as junction erupts

At least seven people were wounded, three seriously, when a heating pipe exploded under a busy crossroads on Wednesday morning.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident, which happened at about 9:30 am at the junction of Shoudutiyuguan Nanlu and Chegongzhuang Xilu, close to the city's environmental protection bureau.

Lin Na, a commuter in her 20s who was waiting at a green light, told METRO she heard several continuous explosions.

"The first sounded like a tire bursting, but the following one was much louder, like the sound of an explosive in a war movie," she said. "I saw the front windshield of a (Suzuki) Alto parking next to me breaking into pieces. Then hot water and rocks and clods of earth started falling on my car."

Several people working in a 27-floor office building next to the junction said water from the explosion even hit windows on the 26th floor. One described the vapor as "looking like a mushroom cloud".

"We all felt the building shake slightly, but none of us panicked or ran for our lives," said a man on the 26th floor who did not want to reveal his name.

"Hot water sprayed out of the crack and poured back to the ground like a rainstorm, and it didn't stop until 11 am."

At 12:30 pm, three hours after the explosion, water vapor as high as 10 meters was still rushing out of the crack. In the center of the junction was a large pit almost 3 meters in diameter.

The line that cracked is a main pipe, roughly 1 meter in diameter.

Although the heating supply was cut on Wednesday, most pipelines still contain hot water, officers at the Beijing Heating Group told Beijing News.

Several police cars were parked at the crossing, with dozens of officers trying to keep passersby at a safe distance from the scene. Traffic in all four directions was blocked, while at least 20 workers from Beijing Heating Group cleaned up the gravel and water.

Seven people suffered burns from the steam, while others were hit by debris from the explosion. All were treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, with four discharged by 2 pm.

Huang Yongtao, a man in his 20s who lives in a building nearby, said he saw an elderly man thrown from his bicycle by the blast and then engulfed in steam. He was one of the first to be taken away by ambulance.

The explosion also caused damage to several cars and even led to a traffic accident. Commuter Lin said she was waiting to turn left at the crossings when suddenly all she could see was white vapor. She immediately accelerated to avoid the steam and drove into a bus, which was making a right turn.

"The police said I'm fully responsible for the accident according to the traffic regulation, but I didn't do that for no reason. What would you do if your life has suddenly under threat?" she said, adding that she plans to complain to the authorities.

Wang Qingwen, a press officer with the city heating office, said the explosion is under investigation. "We had successfully turned off the cracked section by 12:10 pm," he said.

"Now workers are pumping hot water out of the pipes. After that, we'll send people down there to find the crack and the reasons (behind the explosion)."

He said it is possible that the accident may have been caused by decaying pipes.

However, a firefighter at the scene who refused to be named suggested it could have something to do with subway construction work on the nearby Line 6.

Beijing TV reported that work to shut down the capital's central heating supply, which began on Wednesday, may have caused the pressure in the main pipes to become too high.

The junction was opened to traffic by 5:30 pm, except for those heading north to south.