Security maintained in gas blowout municipality

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 27, 2003

Security maintained in gas blowout municipality

Over 1,000 policemen have been sent to the gas field where a fatal blowout took place Tuesday, killing at least 191 people.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Over 1,000 policemen have been sent to the gas field where a fatal blowout took place Tuesday, killing at least 191 people.

About 200 police officers from the Chongqing Security Bureau were dispatched immediately after the blowout in Kaixian County, northeast of this southwest China municipality. The headquarters arranged 20 teams consisting of some 120 policemen and firemen to search for victims as soon as the well was put under primary control.

Police still remain in the gas-polluted area, following the evacuation of 30,000 residents since Wednesday. More than 20 fireengines and 100 sets of gas defense facilities have been allocatedfor the police.

The police are now identifying bodies found in the villages andpatrolling the evacuated area.

The tragedy took place at 10:00 p.m. Tuesday at a natural gas field operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation. A wellburst suddenly, and released a high concentration of natural gas and sulfurated hydrogen. The natural gas field is 337 kilometers northeast of Chongqing Municipality.

The blowout that so far has killed 191 people was described by a work safety official as "unprecedented."

All-round rescue work is still underway.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Search for gas blowout survivors expected to end soon

Officials analyze cause of soaring toll in gas field blowout

Rescue operations reinforced at gas blowout site

Trade war? A buying spree for cheap Chinese goods ( 55 Messages)

Humanization reform gets started in prison in China ( 2 Messages)

China develops IPv6 technology to tackle IP address exhaustion ( 3 Messages)

Returned overseas students to work in government ( 2 Messages)

EU considers lifting 14-year-old ban on arms sales to China ( 8 Messages)