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60 Killed in Urumqi Explosion
The catastrophic explosion occurred in Urumqi on Friday evening has killed 60 people, injured 173 people, according to the latest figures from the municipal government.
When traveling on the Xishan Road in the western suburbs of Urumqi, a vehicle carrying explosives which were planned to be destroyed blew up suddenly at about 7:30 pm. September 8, killing and injuring people, damaging more than 20 other vehicles and nearby houses, the sources said.
The accident has attracted serious attention from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, which have instructed local Party and government leadership to do their utmost to rescue the injured people, deal with the case properly, and find out the cause as soon as possible.
Local police, fire-fighting and medical teams took emergency actions to rescue people after the explosion. By noon today, the explosion spot has been cleared up and all injured people have been sent to nearby hospitals.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
The Xishan Road, lined by a number of warehouses and vehicle repair shops, is a main thoroughfare on the outskirts of Urumqi. It has been heavily congested as a result of repair work on the road, especially during the local rush hour between 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Most workers working at the warehouses had finished the day's work and left, leaving only a few on the evening duty.
``I was sitting behind my desk by the window and watching the congested road when the explosion occurred about 100 metres away from the warehouse,'' recalled a staff worker working at the warehouse of the Urumqi Cotton, Fibre and Local Produce Company, who asked not to be named.
``I first heard a deafening bang, then felt the window glasses flowing into my face.'' he recalled, his face bearing two one-centimetre long fresh scar, one on the left cheek and the other on the forehead.
The part of his right leg below the knee is swollen with a few cuts. ``I don't know how I got it,'' he said. ``The blast blew down the whole facade of the warehouse. I saw pieces of vehicle parts flying in the sky. I tried to make a phone call but neither the phone nor the mobile phone worked.''
About 300 to 400 metres from the site, residents and business persons felt houses shake when they heard the exposition. Some saw a big mushroom cloud rise from the site and then fires broke out.
Several metal doors were twisted by the blast. Many people saw a huge black ring of cloud rise high into the sky.
``About six bottles of liquor felt off the shelf after the bang and a window was shattered. There was also a temporary power cut,'' recalled a young waitress working at the Big Plate Chicken Restaurant, located about 500 metres from the explosion site.
The restaurant is located some 50 metres down the road from the General Hospital of the Xinjiang Armed Police. A name list of 51 people, clearly identified as those injured during the explosion, was posted on Saturday morning at the gate of the hospital. Armed police guarded the two entrances to the hospital. No one was allowed into the hospital without authorization to guarantee treatment.
``I saw a 13 to 14-year-old girl walked to the hospital, crying. Her face was covered with blood,'' the waitress said.
Some wounded people were carried into the hospital on stretchers. Ambulances came and went during the whole night.
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