newser
17-03-05, 01:59
Powerful explosion kills up to 30 on bus in China
Thu Mar 17, 3:54 AM ET Asia - AFP
BEIJING (AFP) - Up to 30 people were killed and seven injured when a double-decker bus was destroyed after a nearby truck ladened with explosives and fireworks blew up, state press and local officials said.
Initial investigations showed that the bus "was blown up by the explosion of a truck from Liuyang city of central Hunan province, a major firecracker producer", Xinhua news agency reported Thursday, citing local police.
The bus was travelling from Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province to eastern Zhejiang province when it took the full force of the blast at about 4:00 am near Shangrao city in Jiangxi province.
The truck was packed with fireworks and explosives, Xinhua said, without saying why its cargo had detonated.
China is the world's largest producer of fireworks but many fail to meet international safety standards, with fuses often made too-short and the use of banned volatile chemicals.
Police initially thought the bus had caused the blast, which was so powerful it was heard several kilometers (miles) away.
"I can only tell you that it was a sudden and unexpected explosion," Huang Hailing, a local official in Shangrao, earlier told AFP.
"As far as what specifically caused this explosion, only police experts will be able to say."
Huang said he could not immediately verify the Xinhua report.
"Police said that the exact death toll is hard to tell now, as victims were exploded into pieces," Xinhua said, adding that the toll was estimated on the bus's 30-person seating capacity.
No survivors were found on the vehicle which was "completely destroyed," Huang said.
Several buildings near the blast site were damaged and at least seven local villagers were slightly injured and hospitalized from the explosion, he added.
He refused to speculate on what had caused the blast while local police also refused comment.
In January a bomb exploded on a bus in northwestern Xinjiang region, killing 11 people and injuring seven.
That blast was blamed on a disgruntled worker who held a grudge against his former employer, a coal mining company near the scene of the explosion.
Thu Mar 17, 3:54 AM ET Asia - AFP
BEIJING (AFP) - Up to 30 people were killed and seven injured when a double-decker bus was destroyed after a nearby truck ladened with explosives and fireworks blew up, state press and local officials said.
Initial investigations showed that the bus "was blown up by the explosion of a truck from Liuyang city of central Hunan province, a major firecracker producer", Xinhua news agency reported Thursday, citing local police.
The bus was travelling from Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province to eastern Zhejiang province when it took the full force of the blast at about 4:00 am near Shangrao city in Jiangxi province.
The truck was packed with fireworks and explosives, Xinhua said, without saying why its cargo had detonated.
China is the world's largest producer of fireworks but many fail to meet international safety standards, with fuses often made too-short and the use of banned volatile chemicals.
Police initially thought the bus had caused the blast, which was so powerful it was heard several kilometers (miles) away.
"I can only tell you that it was a sudden and unexpected explosion," Huang Hailing, a local official in Shangrao, earlier told AFP.
"As far as what specifically caused this explosion, only police experts will be able to say."
Huang said he could not immediately verify the Xinhua report.
"Police said that the exact death toll is hard to tell now, as victims were exploded into pieces," Xinhua said, adding that the toll was estimated on the bus's 30-person seating capacity.
No survivors were found on the vehicle which was "completely destroyed," Huang said.
Several buildings near the blast site were damaged and at least seven local villagers were slightly injured and hospitalized from the explosion, he added.
He refused to speculate on what had caused the blast while local police also refused comment.
In January a bomb exploded on a bus in northwestern Xinjiang region, killing 11 people and injuring seven.
That blast was blamed on a disgruntled worker who held a grudge against his former employer, a coal mining company near the scene of the explosion.