The death toll of the explosion in the staff hospital of
Xuangang Coal and Electricity Company in north China's Shanxi Province has risen to 30 as of
1:30?PM on Tuesday, confirmed the local sources.
The death toll might rise as the rescue operation is still going
on, according to the rescue team.
The explosion took place at about 2:25?AM on Monday in a
garage of the hospital in Yuanping city.
The patients at the hospital, many of whom got injured, have
been transferred to Yuanping People's Hospital and Yuanping Railway
Hospital.
The explosion has totally flatten a two-storey residential
building and several small houses nearby. Buildings within one
kilometer from the garage were damaged to certain extent and a
five-storey medical staff building was damaged seriously
nearby.
The blast also brought damages to more than 200 villagers living
nearby, and many of them have been injured, said the rescue
team.
Local government per day subsidized 50 yuan for each person who
has no houses to live in, said Zhou Xixi, head of Xuangang village
in Xuangang Township.
Local police have found large quantities of detonators and
blasting fuses at the incident spot and is further investigating
the cause of the explosion.
Police said the explosives might have been stored in the
basement of the two-storey building, which housed a five-room
garage on the first floor and 17 rooms living with people on the
second floor.
The rescuers and medical teams arrived at the spot shortly after
the explosion. Yang Anhe, director of the provincial public
security bureau, and Shanxi Vice Governor Jin Shanzhong also rushed
to the site to coordinate the rescue work.
(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2006)