Fires and explosions

Citation

(2003), "Fires and explosions", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 12 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2003.07312aac.003

Fires and explosions

Fires and explosions

16 January 2002 – Yunnan Province, China

A blast at a mine in the south-western province of Yunnan killed 25 and injured at least 10, state media reported today. The explosion at the unlicensed mine was caused by a gas leak, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

27 January 2002 – Lagos, Nigeria

A series of large explosions have rocked the outskirts of Lagos today. An army spokesman said that an accidental fire at an army's ammunition depot was responsible for the blasts in the Ikeja area. The spokesman said many were feared dead as the depot was near an army barracks and close to Lagos' international airport. Witnesses said hundreds of people had fled the area. The blasts began around 1800, local time, and lasted for about an hour. In the ensuing panic, thousands of people fled the Ikeja district. "A fire broke out at a street market for soldiers and spread to the ammunition dump", an army officer said. The military and police have confirmed that an accidental fire caused the blasts. "The explosions have been only in Ikeja cantonment. There have not been 199 explosions anywhere else in the city", Lagos State Police Commissioner Mike Okiro said.

27 January 2002 – About 1800, local time, today, heavy explosions were heard all around the Lagos area. Local radio announced that the armoury at Ikeja, near the International Airport, had exploded. The explosions continued through the evening.

29 January 2002 – Hundreds of bodies were pulled out of a canal in Lagos today after they drowned while trying to flee explosions at an army weapons depot. Many victims apparently did not realise how deep the water was and drowned when they ran and drove vehicles into the Oke Afa drainage canal, witnesses said. They were fleeing explosions at the city's Ikeja military base, which propelled shrapnel and shock waves for miles last night. Rescue volunteer Ben Nwachukwu said more than 200 bodies were pulled from just one part of the canal. Other volunteers said the death toll could be much higher, but getting an accurate count was difficult, in part because the current was carrying bodies downstream. Authorities issued no official death count. Army spokesman Colonel Felix Chukwumah said the explosions began when a fire spread to the depot, which is surrounded by crowded slums and working-class neighbourhoods. He did not know how the fire started, but a police officer said yesterday it began at a nearby gas station. State and military officials said the fire was accidental and not an indication of military unrest. Dozens of blasts sent fireballs towering over the city and shattered windows six miles away at the international airport. The explosions continued into the early morning today. It was not immediately clear how many people died in the blasts themselves. President Olusegun Obasanjo promised the military would investigate the cause of the explosions.

29 January 2002 – The death toll from bomb explosions at an armoury, in Lagos, climbed above 600 today, after more bodies were retrieved from a canal, officials said. Rescuers, yesterday, retrieved hundreds of bodies of people who drowned in two canals. "As of last night, a total of 600 bodies were retrieved from the canals", Lagos State Commissioner for Information Dele Alake said. Rescuers said they had found more bodies after resuming the search today. More than a dozen other deaths were reported by witnesses elsewhere in the city.

29 January 2002 – Explosions occurred at an ammunition dump at the Nigerian Army's Military Cantonment at Ikeja, Lagos. This is the same area as the International Airport and is 15 kilometres from the port area of Tin Can Island and Apapa port. The explosions started at about 1830, local time, 27 January, and heavy explosions continued until the early hours of 28 January. Pictures in local papers show large areas of damaged housing and bodies in the streets. A large plastics factory has reportedly been demolished due to the explosions and fire. There was an announcement on the radio at 1630, local time, today, that the army intends to detonate the remaining ordnance at the ammunition dump later today. The areas around Ikeja are to be evacuated again. The communications in other parts of Lagos remain unaffected and the seaports and airports are operating normally, although the airport may be disrupted by the planned detonations.

30 January 2002 – The Nigerian Red Cross said today more than 1,100 people remained missing in Lagos three days after a cascade of deadly explosions at a military armoury in the city. Workers pulled more than 600 bodies from two canals near a weapons dump that burst into flames on Sunday (27 January), a death toll that pictures and witness accounts suggested could soar even higher as pressure grew on authorities to explain the disaster. Poorly equipped mortuaries have been stretched to the limit and attendants said they feared decomposing bodies could spark an epidemic in the metropolis of over 10 million people. "We registered a total of 4,000 people reported missing between Sunday and yesterday", Red Cross spokesman Patrick Bawa said. "Out of this we found 2,825 as of last night". Bawa said most of the missing were children aged between four and 11. The Red Cross was also looking after 15 children separated from their parents after exploding bombs triggered a mass stampede in chaotic Lagos, Africa's biggest city. Newspapers said the final figure from a catastrophe that damaged a huge number of residential and public buildings could be more than 2,000. Thousands of people mourning those killed faced the grim task today of retrieving the bodies of loved ones before city authorities emptied mortuaries into mass graves. As the scale of the tragedy became apparent yesterday, declared a national day of mourning, President Olusegun Obasanjo's government faced a storm of outrage. Even some military officers privately dismissed the announcement by Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma that a special army board would investigate the tragedy. "I felt sick listening to the minister speak on television. His office is full of memos from military commanders on the need to move the armoury from a residential area", one said.

2 February 2002 – The official death toll from the Lagos factory blast has risen to more than 1,000. A Lagos state official says most of the dead are children who drowned in a canal. Hundreds of people fled in panic following the series of explosions at an army weapons dump. Home Affairs Commissioner Musiliu Obanikoro made the comments in a statement broadcast on the private Lagos radio station Rhythm. "From everything I have seen, as more bodies have been found over the days, the number of people who are deceased is now over 1,000 people", Obanikoro said. Without elaborating, Obanikoro said the discovery of new bodies was finally tapering off. "We are thankful that the numbers (being collected) are now slowing", Obanikoro said. Rescue workers ended their search at the Oke Ma canal on Friday, when officials said they did not have an updated death toll. Distraught families continue to search for missing loved ones at a nearby morgue, where some who found the remains of relatives poured bottles of perfume on the decaying corpses. The Red Cross has reunited 1,800 children with their parents and is feeding 11,500 people displaced by the blasts.

1 February 2002 – Hengyang, China

A total of 14 miners were killed in an explosion on Monday (28 January) in Hengyang, a city in the central province of Hunan, said An Yuanjie, a spokeswoman for the State Administration of Safe Production. On Thursday (31 January), 13 miners suffocated when gas filled a mine near the south-western city of Chongqing, leaving them without air to breathe, An said. Another eight miners were missing.

6 February 2002 – Jastrzebie Zdroj, Poland

A coal mine in southern Poland exploded today, killing ten miners, the mining authority said. The explosion happened at about 0500 in the Jasmos mine in Jastrzebie Zdroj, about 205 miles south of Warsaw, said spokeswoman Danuta Olejniczak-Milian. It was unclear whether the blast, which occurred about 2,300 feet underground, was caused by methane gas or coal dust, she said. Another 37 other miners were evacuated from the mine. One was believed to be seriously injured.

5 February 2002 – Mont Blanc Tunnel, France

The reopening of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, closed nearly three years ago after 39 people died in a fire, needs new repairs before it has even re-opened. The tunnel is scheduled to re-open on Saturday (9 February), but the deadline could be delayed after part of an archway collapsed and fell on to the road at the weekend. Officials are now considering a three-week postponement. The problem was discovered yesterday as French and Italian officials were completing last-minute safety tests. The French Transport Ministry said cracks in the roof of the tunnel would have to be repaired. A final safety check, which had been scheduled for today, has been called off. The cracks, which were discovered some 4.5 kilometres into the tunnel, were reported to be around five metres long. Officials believe they may have been caused by a slight seismic tremor that was detected in the region several days ago.

6 March 2002 – The Mont Blanc tunnel is set finally to open to cars on Saturday(9 March), nearly three years after 39 people died when a lorry caught fire inside the tunnel. Lorries are expected to be allowed to go through the tunnel from mid-March. A French-Italian government committee made the announcement following final security checks on Monday (4 March). Heavy goods traffic will be staggered, with vehicles only allowed through the tunnel in one direction at a time. Lorries carrying dangerous substances will not be allowed into the tunnel. The inquiry into the fire is still under way. So far, 12 people have been placed under formal investigation in connection with the blaze, the preliminary step to being formally charged.

9 March 2002 – Mont Blanc tunnel reopened to cars today despite an explosion at its mouth hours earlier. Police told Reuters the device went off around 0330 hrs (0230, UTC) on the bonnet of a car parked on a French access route to the tunnel, badly damaging the vehicle. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion which caused no damage to the tunnel. The first car went through at midday following a wreath-laying ceremony for the 39 people who died in the 1999 fire, and cars queued up on the French side to go through. About 1,000 demonstrators, members of resident and ecology groups, gathered outside each end of the tunnel. The tunnel is expected to reopen to trucks next week, government officials said. French Transportation Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot said $265 million has been spent rebuilding the tunnel and incorporating new safety features.

19 February 2002 – Tangshan, China

A fire caused by an electrical short circuit raced through a video game arcade in northern China, killing at least 17 people, most of them teenagers, a local official said today. The fire broke out yesterday afternoon in Tangshan, about 100 miles east of Beijing, said a spokeswoman for the city government. The video arcade was run illegally and doors and windows were blocked, the spokeswoman said. She said three people blamed for the fire were being questioned by police, who were looking for the arcade's owner.

5 March 2002 – Fuxin, China

Three people are dead and 19 others are missing, after a fire swept through a small coal mine in north-eastern China. The Chinese state media says the fire has occurred in a mine in Fuxin city, when 24 miners were in the mine. The remaining two miners have been rescued with minor injuries. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

11 March 2002 – Guangdong, China

An explosion at a fireworks factory in southern China killed nine people and injured seven, an area official said today. The blast on Saturday (9 March) afternoon in a village in Jiexi County in Guangdong, a province that borders Hong Kong, killed the owner, his wife and son and six others, according to an official in nearby Jieyang city. The official gave his name only as Mr Lin. Seven people were injured, Lin said. He identified the owner as Huang Songqiang. It was not clear whether the factory was licensed to operate legally.

30 March 2002 – Yuzhou City, China

Up to 21 workers may have been killed by an explosion in a coal mine in central China's Henan province, a local official and state-run media said. Temperatures inside the Xinfeng mine near Yuzhou city mine rose beyond safety levels yesterday morning, triggering a gas explosion, the Dahe newspaper said. "There were 33 miners inside at the time of the accident", the mining official, surnamed Wang, said by telephone, "12 have been saved, but 21 are still unaccounted for".

2 April 2002 – A gas explosion in a coal mine killed 22 miners in central China, the state safety administration said today. Three miners survived Friday's (29 March) blast at the state-owned Xinfeng mine in Henan province, according to a notice on the State Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration. One miner was missing. Rescuers worked for more than 19 hours after the noon explosion.

5 April 2002 – Jiangxi Province, China

A gas explosion in a coal mine in China is reported to have killed 16 people. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the accident happened in Jiangxi province as maintenance was being carried out on the mine. Some 15 of the dead are believed to have been killed instantly, another died later in hospital.

10 April 2002 – Jixi, Heilong Jiang Province, China

Explosions have been reported in two coal mines in northern China, on the same day the country announced it was closing thousands of unsafe mines. At least 31 miners were reported killed today, in separate blasts in the same Chinese city. In the biggest blast, which was reported to have taken place on Monday (8 April) night, at least 24 people died and 40 people were injured in a mine in Jixi city, in Heilong Jiang province. Seven miners were killed in a later explosion at another mine. Chinese pits have an appalling safety record, with more than 5,600 workers losing their lives in accidents last year. According to a top safety official, nearly 1,000 people were killed in just the first three months of this year. Today, China pledged to cut mining deaths by 10 percent, and announced plans to close 8,000 small coal mines as part of efforts to streamline and regulate the industry. More than 12,000 mines have closed because of safety concerns since last May. The new closures will leave China with about 15,000 mines, down from 82,000 in 1997. The official China Daily newspaper has highlighted the fact that more than $240m (two billion Yuan) has been invested in safety equipment and safety measures at hundreds of state-owned coal mines since last year. The government has also recently promised to invest another $700m in such facilities. According to Zhang Baoming, head of China's Work Safety Administration, 994 people died in mining accidents between January and March this year – a 13 percent increase on the same period a year earlier. Mine closures mean huge job losses and coal provides more than 70 percent of China's energy. State media say China's mining deaths did fall slightly last year – but mining is still China's deadliest industry and independent analysts believe the yearly death toll may be far higher than the official figures. They say that the government's pledge to jail officials held responsible for mining accidents may actually lead to more such accidents going unreported. Several Chinese provinces last year ordered a temporary halt to production in all coal mines, in order to allow safety inspections. But private mine operators have frequently defied closure orders and continued to operate – or reopened – sometimes with the collusion of local officials.

24 April 2002 – Chongqing, China

A total of 11 workers were killed in a coal mine accident on Monday (22 April) evening in Chongqing Municipality in south-west China. A sudden burst of 400,000 cubic metres of gas and 2,800 tons of coal occurred at around 1800 on Monday in the Zhongliangshan Coal Mine in western suburbs of the city. The accident also left seven workers injured, and four others are still missing, sources said. Chongqing Vice-Mayor Wu Jianong and other officials rushed to the mine to join in the rescue efforts, and further investigation into the accident is under way.

26 April 2002 – Panzhihua, China

A gas explosion killed 23 coal miners in south-west China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today. A total of 12 miners survived the blast yesterday evening at the mine in Panzhihua, Sichuan province, Xinhua said. The cause of the accident was being investigated.

9 May 2002 – Coal Mines, China

A total of 34 people have been killed and two others are feared dead following two deadly explosions on the same day in south-western and central China, state media said today. A total of 23 people were killed in a gas explosion around noon Saturday (4 May) at an illegal mine in Weining county in south-western China's Guizhou province, the China News Service's Web site said. The second explosion happened Saturday evening when a gas explosion ripped through a mine shortly after 13 miners had entered a shaft of the mine in Leidi city, in central China's Hunan province. Eleven of the miners were found dead at the scene, while the other two were missing, the report said.