tunnelling-journal (1)
tunnelling-journal (1)
  • Home
  • Print
    • Subscribe
    • Tunnelling Journal
    • Breakthrough
    • ITA Activity Report
    • A&NZ Journal
    • WTC Preview
    • Media Kit
  • Digital
    • Newsletter
    • E-Shots
    • Products Page
    • Media Kit
  • Conferences
    • BTS Conference and Exhibition
    • Cutting Edge 2021
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Events Diary
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Podcast

Home > Poor safety is likely blame for deadly Hunan tunnel blast

Poor safety is likely blame for deadly Hunan tunnel blast

Amanda Foley

Written by Amanda Foley on 24/05/2012 in News

Tagged:

Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the truck suspected of causing a deadly blast in a highway tunnel under construction in Hunan, Central China, was in serious violation of safety regulations. The blast – which took place in the 2,355m long Baimianshan tunnel at 8.20am, last Saturday (May 19) – killed 20 of the 24 people working in the tunnel at the time.

Four workers were rescued, one is in a serious condition and another slightly injured. Two more escaped injury, according to provincial authorities. The injured are being treated in a nearby hospital.

The blast occurred as twelve 24kg cases of explosives were being unloaded from a truck inside the tunnel. Most of the workers in the tunnel were in close proximity to the truck at the time of the explosion.

Investigations found that the truck had also been carrying detonators, despite regulations stating that explosives and detonators 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.

Immediately after the blast there were initial fears that the tunnel might collapse, but despite the danger rescuers went in and managed to pull one man to safety. Provincial departments, including police, fire, health, transport and work safety administrations, then arrived at the tunnel and coordinated search and rescue work and launched investigations, according to provincial authorities.

Hope of finding further survivors quickly faded and rescue teams have now all but left the site. “The blast from 240kg of explosives was so powerful that most of the bodies might have been vaporized in the explosion,” Fan said. “It is so tragic that the rescuers could not even find a disaster victim.”

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.

Comments:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Digital Edition

More Like This

24/12/2020

Sandvik to acquire DSI Underground

Sandvik to acquire DSI Underground

Sandvik has signed an agreement to acquire DSI Underground, the global leader in ground support and reinforcement products, systems and…

07/10/2020

COWI wins innovative tunnel examination contract

COWI wins innovative tunnel examination contract

COWI has won a contract worth approximately £500,000 – to share with its subcontractors – as part of a project funded…

10/11/2020

Andreas Raedle named Arup Americas Underground-Infrastructure Leader

Andreas Raedle named Arup Americas Underground-Infrastructure Leader

Engineering and consulting firm Arup has named Andreas Raedle as its new Americas Underground-Infrastructure Leader. Joining the San Francisco office…

  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Magazine Archive

Newsletter

The latest from the Tunneling Journal direct to your inbox.

Social



Enquiries

TGS Media Ltd
The Old Library
Webster House
Dudley Road
Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1LE
United Kingdom

© Tunnelling Journal. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions. Admin

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more