Truck causing tunnel blast carried explosives and detonators

A senior official on May 22 confirmed that a vehicle suspected of causing a deadly tunnel blast in Central China was in serious violation of safety regulations.

Initial investigations have showed that the truck had been carrying explosives and detonators, despite regulations stating that they must be transported separately, Fan Jinsheng, director of the State Administration of Work Safety's emergency rescue center, told China Daily.

How the detonator was ignited remains unknown, he said, adding that a team of experts is still analyzing the cause of the accident, which happened on May 19.

After three days of recovery efforts, the death toll remains uncertain. As the hope of finding survivors fades, many rescue teams have left the site.

"The blast from 240 kilograms of explosives was so powerful that most of the bodies might have been vaporized in the explosion," Fan said. "It was so tragic that the rescuers could not even find a sole from a disaster victim."

One of the injured workers told rescuers that at the time of the blast he saw a streak of strong light and lost conscious immediately, said Fan.

According to Fan, the construction company responsible for building the tunnel is a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp.

Survivors said the project had several layers of sub-contracting and management was lax. The workers had to work overtime as contractors tried to keep ahead of schedule, Beijing Times reported on Tuesday.

A sub-contractor fled immediately after he heard the explosion, the report said. He is still at large.

All the dead were clients of Taikang Life Insurance Co and the company is expected to pay 4 million yuan, the report said.

After the accident, the Hunan government decided to halt all construction work at similar sites in the province to carry out thorough safety investigations, Fan said.

China Railway Construction Corp will also halt similar construction across the country and carry out safety investigations.