Blasts Kill 7, Injure 137 in S. China’s Showcase City

Firefighters in South China’s showcase city of Shenzhen extinguished a massive blaze today caused by a series of industrial explosions that Chinese officials said killed at least seven people and injured 137.

At a press briefing in Shenzhen, Chinese authorities told reporters the cause of the explosion is being investigated.

The official New China News Agency said late Thursday night that the blasts began at the Anmao Dangerous Goods Shipping & Storage Co. on the city’s outskirts. Over four hours, the resulting fire ignited eight of the company’s 10 warehouses storing flammable goods.

The British news agency Reuters quoted a Shenzhen city official who said the compound belonged to a company run by the Chinese army.

The initial blaze also ignited a larger blast in the city’s biggest gas storage area. This second explosion produced a gigantic mushroom cloud.

The China News Agency of Hong Kong initially reported that about 70 people were feared dead in the accident.

“There was a huge explosion. This building was shaking as if it was going to collapse,” said a survivor interviewed by Hong Kong’s Asia Television (ATV) news. “I ran for my life and outside I saw a huge mushroom cloud.”

ATV correspondent Morland Sanders reported that the initial blast occurred in a People’s Liberation Army explosives compound.

“As emergency services arrived to survey the damage, a much more powerful explosion occurred,” he reported.

The scale of the damage prompted the mayor of Shenzhen on Thursday to make an unusual appeal for help to neighboring Hong Kong. In response, the Hong Kong government sent firefighters this morning to the scene. But Shenzhen authorities said that a contingency plan to send the injured to the British colony for treatment wasn’t needed.

Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, has enjoyed extremely rapid economic growth as a “special economic zone” set up to pioneer market-oriented economic reforms. In the rush for development, however, safety concerns have sometimes been given low priority.

Special correspondent Courtney reported from Hong Kong and Times staff writer Holley reported from Tokyo.