Society
Major gas blast injures four
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-30 07:52
 |
Large Medium Small |
At least four people were injured in a gas explosion at a hospital dormitory in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, yesterday.
 Firefighters rescue a victim from the debris of a building hit by the gas explosion in Weisheng area of Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, yesterday. [China Daily] |
More than 1,000 dorm residents of the Hohhot No 2 hospital were evacuated after the blast on the third floor of the east dormitory building tilted the structure at about 6:20 am.
The blast shattered windows of the first three floors of the dormitory. The local public security bureau rushed to the scene to evacuate more than 1,000 residents from nearby buildings to prevent more casualties.
The evacuees have been lodged in nearby hotels as the electricity, gas and water supply to the residential community has been cut off temporarily, officials said. The explosion damaged the homes of 214 families, including four that belong to the low-income group.
Even as the police said they were still investigating the cause of the explosion, residents blamed a damaged gas pipe for the accident.
Bai Tianhou, who lives on the fourth floor of the building, said: "Our gas pipe often stops working and has been repaired several times."
Experts are inspecting the buildings in the community to confirm if they are safe to house residents, Xinhua reported.
The buildings that are deemed safe enough will get new windows, it said.
This is not the first such accident in the city, where the temperature dipped to -20 C yesterday.
On Monday morning, a restaurant that sells rice noodles went up in flames after a gas explosion. No one was injured.
China Daily - Xinhua
