Fires and explosions

Citation

(2008), "Fires and explosions", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 17 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2008.07317bad.005

Fires and explosions

Article Type: Disaster database From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 17, Issue 2.

23 June 2006 Coal Mine, Coahuila State (Mexico)

Rescuers have found the first of 65 bodies believed to have been left in a northern Mexican mine following a February explosion, a Mexican newspaper reported today. The body was found about dawn as workers were removing debris from one of the shafts at the Pasta de Conchos mine in northern Coahuila state, the Reforma newspaper said, citing a spokeswoman from mine owner Grupo Mexico.

28 June 2006 Coal Mine, Fuxin City (China)

Thirteen miners were confirmed dead and seven others injured in a gas-related accident this morning in a coalmine in Fuxin City of north-east China’s Liaoning Province, said the provincial coal mine safety watchdog. The accident occurred at around 0900, today in the Wulong Coal Mine of the Fuxin Mining Industrial Group, according to the Liaoning Provincial Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration. Twelve miners managed to escape, but the number of missing miners remained unknown, Xinhua learned from the administration.

27 June 2006 Premises, Shaanxi Province (China)

An explosion of illegally stored dynamite in northwest China killed 11 people, injured 20 and flattened buildings and the death toll is expected to rise, state media said today. The storage of explosives in houses is common in Shaanxi Province, the heart of the country’s coal-mining industry. “Most of the victims are migrant workers,” Xinhua news agency said, citing a local official. Yesterday’s explosion “flattened 23 rooms,” Xinhua said without elaborating.

8 July 2006 Factory, Nairobi (Kenya)

Fire ripped through a paint factory in Nairobi today, killing four people and leaving another seven missing feared dead, police said. After a machine apparently exploded, a huge fire sent smoke billowing into the sky over the factory next to a busy highway in north Nairobi, witnesses said. Workers said some victims were unable to escape because managers had locked the company’s heavy metal doors but police disputed that. “We have retrieved four bodies. We are trying our best to search for the seven other bodies we believe are inside,” area police boss Julius Muthuri said. “The machine that exploded was too close to the exit door, only four people managed to escape the inferno before the place was engulfed by smoke,” Muthuri added. While fire fighters doused the flames, sporadic explosions could still be heard inside the brick building, as chemicals caught fire, witnesses said.

8 July 2006

A fire ripped through a paint factory in Nairobi yesterday, killing four people and leaving another seven missing feared dead. Witnesses said the fire began when a machine apparently exploded. “We have retrieved four bodies. We are trying our best to search for the seven other bodies we believe are inside,” said area police head Julius Muthuri. While fire fighters doused the flames, sporadic explosions could still be heard inside the brick building, as chemicals caught fire, said witnesses. The charred corpses were carried out in white plastic sheets and placed in a police truck for transport.

9 July 2006 Forest, Portugal

Six firemen died in a forest fire that burnt out of control in central Portugal today, local media reported. The dead were five Chileans and one Portuguese. The flames were fanned by strong winds. “Only the investigation will verify if the team was in the correct position and if the work was organised in the proper manner,” Lusa news agency quoted the head of the national protection service, Gil Martins, as saying. “Forest fires are unpredictable.” Lusa reported that the Chileans were in Portugal to help the country fight forest fires during the summer. There were huge forest fires in Portugal last year but so far this summer they have been calm. Warmer weather during the last two days, however, has ignited them again.

10 July 2006

Six firefighters died trying to put out the flames of a forest fire in Portugal yesterday as temperatures began to soar across the Iberian peninsula, authorities said today. The six firefighters, including five Chileans working for a private contractor, died as a blaze tore through countryside and woodland near the north-eastern town of Famalicao. A sudden change in the direction of the wind left the six men trapped by the flames, police said. The government immediately announced the opening of an investigation. Firefighters from Germany, France and Spain were called in to help the overworked Portuguese fire brigade. This summer had been calm so far, but hot weather over the last two days has set fires going again. At least three other fires were reported burning yesterday morning in both northern and southern Portugal.