47 people were killed and more than 20 injured early this
morning in a blast allegedly caused by privately stored explosives
in Ningwu County, north China's Shanxi Province.
The explosion happened at about 6:30 AM in a villager's home in
Dongzhai Village, Dongzhai Township, local police sources
confirmed.
Preliminary investigations suggest that a fire triggered the
explosion.
Recounting the event over the telephone, a worker with the
Ningwu County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said
that it started with a fire in one of the villager's homes. Other
villagers rushed to help extinguish the fire.
While the villagers were trying to put out the fire, there was
an explosion that killed 37 villagers on the spot.
The house was blown to pieces. Windows in adjacent houses were
also shattered by the explosion, according to the county Party
committee worker, whose identity is unknown.
Zhang Baoshun, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of
the CPC, has demanded that all-out efforts be made to save the
injured, and those responsible for the explosion must be
punished.
Ningwu County, administered by Xinzhou City, is more than four
hours by bus from Taiyuan, the provincial capital.
A rescue headquarters has been set up. It is led by local
government officials and consists of seven specialized task
forces.
More than 200 fire fighters, armed police and public security
officers have been mobilized to clear the debris.
With vast coal reserves, Shanxi Province, described as a "sea of
coal, is the biggest coal producer in China. However, scores of
fatal accidents occur in the province each year, many caused by the
illegal storage of explosives used for mining.
Last July, a gas explosion at the Jiajiabao Coal Mine killed 36
people and injured 11. The mine's owner hid the bodies of 17 dead
miners after the explosion to evade punishment.? In April this
year, more than three tons of explosives illegally hidden in the
garage of a staff hospital affiliated to the Xuangang Coal and
Electricity Company in Yuanping City were accidentally detonated,
killing 34 people.
In June, 10 people were killed when privately stored explosives
went off in a residential building in Fanshi County.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2006)