Blast in house kills 11 in Shanxi
4/3/2005 7:56
Shanghai Daily news
A blast in rural Linfen City, in Shanxi Province, killed a coal mine owner,
who illegally stored explosives in his home, and at least 10 others on
Wednesday. Eight people were injured. Local authorities said the mishap
occurred about 4:10pm on Wednesday in Kecheng Town's Hougou Village. Among
those killed were two primary school students and a teacher of a school located
next to the villager's house, according to the China News Service. The
students were identified as 9-year-old boy, Liu Weiwei, and girl Yang Jing, 7.
The school teacher was Liu Yanjie, 34. The eight injured were two students
and six local villagers, the news agency said, adding that two of the injured
were hospitalized in Kecheng while the other six were sent to Linfen. The
coal mine owner, Lu Maolin, also operated a restaurant and a drugstore
locally. Linfen officials said seven people, including Lu, were killed
instantly in the explosion, and four others died later despite emergency
treatment at hospital. Shanxi Party Secretary Tian Chengping and Governor
Zhang Baoshun have ordered Linfen authorities to spare no effort in treating the
injured and further confirm the number of casualties. Meanwhile, Liang Bin,
Shanxi's deputy governor, has arrived at the scene with officials from other
provincial government departments as investigation continues into the cause of
the mishap. The northern province is one of the country's major coal resource
regions.
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