[Epoch Times, June 16, 2021](Interviewed by Epoch Times reporters Gu Xiaohua and Ling Yun) A gas explosion in Zhangwan District, Shiyan City, Hubei has caused at least 25 deaths and 138 injuries. For the shops in the market and the residents around, the tragic circumstances of the explosion are still vivid.
Listen to the news:
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“A lot of people’s clothes are gone.”
Mr. Zhang, a restaurant owner near the vegetable market, was sleeping at the time of the explosion. His home was only 200 meters away from the explosion site. He told the Epoch Times reporter that he only “heard a loud noise and the windows of his home were shattered. Then he went downstairs to the shop and saw that the shop was blown up, and he saved a person”.
When Mr. Zhang ran to his shop 50 meters away, he saw from a distance that there was nothing left in the shop, and the scene was messy. From a distance, he saw that many people’s clothes were gone, lying motionless on the ground. But because of the heavy smoke at the time, he dared not get too close. He looked from a distance and found a person under a small car.
“I made an appointment with four people, lifted the car, and rescued the person.” Mr. Zhang said that the person was just passing by here and was blown up and injured his waist. They found a car to take him to the hospital.
Although there are reports of explosions in the vegetable market, Mr. Zhang said that in fact, the real vegetable market is a little bit lighter. The shops above were the most damaged because the explosion was at the connection point between the vegetable market and the shops, and the gas went up the fire.
Mr. Zhang said that he heard the breakfast man open the door and said that there was a gas leak. He smelled the gas leak and called the police. The gas rescuers were also there, and the explosion injured both rescuers and firefighters.
According to Mr. Zhang, at that time, the restaurant was mainly for breakfast, and there were about eight or nine shops for breakfast in the market. Fortunately, the time is relatively early, and it is Sunday again, otherwise the casualties will be even greater.
“They mishandled and did not evacuate immediately”
Li Jun (pseudonym), an employee of a food store in the explosion center, said that it was a holiday and got up at 6 o’clock or 7 o’clock in the morning. A friend called him. It exploded, so he ran to watch it. I saw a lot of people lying on the ground.
“Someone was already on guard when I went. I just looked around and there were a lot of them lying on the periphery. I saw a dozen of them, but I didn’t go inside.” Li Jun said, he went too late. People who were early said that they saw many people lying on the ground, and there was blood everywhere.
Li Jun said that he heard from neighbors in the breakfast shop next to him that when he went to the shop at four or five in the morning, he had already smelled gas and he called the police.
“They also came, but they did not handle it properly and did not evacuate the crowd urgently. There was a market in the morning, and there were many breakfasts, and it exploded at the first ignition.” He said, it is said that there were two explosions, the first time. It was so fierce that the shop was blown up the second time.
Li Jun believes that maintenance personnel and firefighters have a great responsibility. It should be their misjudgment. When they smell gas, they should first evacuate residents.
He said that he heard that the explosion point seemed to be under the tofu shop, the place where the explosion was the most severe. “It was fried from the underground natural gas pipeline next to the tofu making, and then went up, up, and gone. There should be a place of sixty or seventy meters, and all the houses on it have been blown up. (mostly) are breakfast shops, and then pharmacies, hairdressers, canteens, and supermarkets are all up there, and they were all blown up.”
Lin Li (pseudonym), a woman who lives nearby, also said that she heard that there had been a second explosion. Among the people she knew, the father of a classmate went to the intensive care unit, and the father of another classmate had his leg blown off.
Fortunately, the “Dragon Boat Festival” holiday would cause more casualties
Li Jun also said that fortunately, the time was still early to catch up with the “Dragon Boat Festival” holiday and there were few people.
“If there were no holidays, there would be more people. There would have to be 700 or 800 people in that place in the morning, and thousands of people would be there.” Li Jun said. Residents in nearby communities usually go shopping from there in the morning. Elderly people walking around. , Sending children to school… Fortunately, during the holiday, almost none of those sending children to school came out. Several nearby communities came here to buy vegetables and eat breakfast.
Li Jun said that the number of deaths is still not easy to estimate, because there are still people who have not been found. He almost knew the people nearby, and heard that some people were killed, like the tofu seller and the breakfast seller.
According to anecdotal news that a hair salon owner was also killed, Li Jun also heard about it. “There are usually a lot of middle-aged and elderly people in that market. Young people can’t get up in the morning, and the elderly can’t sleep. They get up early in the morning, and some people cut their hair for the elderly,” he said.
According to Li Jun, the vegetable market where the explosion occurred is not counted. There are more than 50 merchants selling vegetables plus fruit. The morning market opens relatively early, usually around 6:40. , Are doing business in the morning. There are seven or eight breakfast shops.
Li Jun saw his shop on the video, “I saw that only the frame was left, and the goods that had just arrived in the first few days were gone.”
He was thankful that their store was on holiday that day,”If there is no holiday, I will go to the store, maybe we are gone too. “
The live video showed that many residential buildings around the farmer’s market were also affected by the explosion.
Li Jun said that the residents around the streets on both sides of the explosion site could not go back. “There is a yellow building, and the whole building has shattered glass. The tall building has more than 30 floors. (The residents) can’t go back.”
On the evening of the 14th, the official report of the latest casualties was 25 deaths and 138 injuries, of which 37 were seriously injured. But the figures have not been updated for a day.
At present, the local people hope that the government will investigate the cause of the accident as soon as possible and give the people an explanation. “I hope to give us an answer soon. He (the government) does not have anything now. He only reports a number of deaths, (and only) a part of it. If people know it, report part of it. If they don’t know it, it may not report it. I didn’t say the reason.” Li Jun said.
Editor in charge: Li Qiong#
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