The death toll from the explosion at the staff hospital of
Xuangang Coal and Electricity Company in north China's Shanxi Province was 31 as at 9:30 PM on
Tuesday, according to sources with the municipal government.
It began to snow at around 2 PM on Tuesday in Yuanping, Shanxi,
forcing temperatures down to about zero degrees Celsius and
hampering rescue efforts.
"There might be others buried under rubble and we will try every
possible means to find them despite the snowfall," a rescuer told
Xinhua.
Rescuers also cautioned that the death toll could rise
further.
The explosion took place at about 2:25 AM on Monday in a garage
of the hospital. Patients have been transferred to Yuanping
People's Hospital and Yuanping Railway Hospital.
The explosion flattened a two-story residential building and
several small houses nearby. Buildings within a kilometer of the
garage were damaged to varying degrees. A five-story medical staff
building nearby was seriously damaged.
The blast also affected more than 200 villagers living in the
vicinity, many of whom were injured.
The local government has started handing out subsidies of 50
yuan (US$6.24) a day to every person rendered homeless, said Zhou
Xixi, head of Xuangang village in Xuangang Township.
Local police are investigating the cause of the explosion. They
have recovered detonators and blasting fuses from the accident
site.
Police said the explosives might have been stored in the
basement of the two-story residential building, which had a garage
on the first floor and 17 rooms, all living quarters, on the second
floor.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2006)