▲ Firefighters rescue a person buried in a collapsed building


On the 13th local time, 150 people were killed or injured in a gas explosion at a grocery market in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, China.



The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is keenly aware of the possibility that this incident, which caused massive human casualties, will adversely affect the atmosphere of the 100th anniversary celebration to be held on the 1st of next month, promising to hold the public strictly accountable.



According to the online media Pengpai on the 13th, at around 6:30 a.m. (local time) on the same day, a large explosion occurred at a grocery market in a residential area in Jiangwan District, Shiyan City, and the surrounding buildings were severely damaged.



At that time, there were many people who came to the market to shop or have breakfast, which resulted in many casualties.



According to reports from Chinese media, the market area where the explosion occurred was turned into ruins as if it had been bombed, and building debris was blown up to the middle of the road.



Dozens of cars parked around the two-story market building where the explosion occurred were scattered and covered with hazy ash on the roof, reminiscent of a battlefield.



The market building where the explosion occurred was a long two-story building, surrounded by high-rise apartments.



Authorities said 150 people had been rescued from the scene and taken to hospital by 2 p.m., 12 people were killed and 138 injured.



Thirty-seven of those injured are critically injured, and the number of casualties is likely to rise as rescue and search operations are ongoing.



Authorities believe a gas explosion occurred and are investigating the exact cause of the accident.



One witness told Peng Pai, "I was going to the market for breakfast, and when I heard a huge explosion, the market building collapsed and in an instant, bricks and stones were blown all over the place."



The Shiyan City government said the building where the explosion occurred was a two-story building built in the early 1990s, and about 900 households and shops in the area have been evacuated.



When the large-scale disaster occurred, President Xi Jinping issued an "important instruction" and ordered that "the gas explosion caused serious casualties and left a serious lesson." "We should find out the cause as soon as possible and hold them strictly accountable." .



"Recently, safety accidents have been occurring in various places across the country," Xi said. "By discovering various hidden safety problems and preventing serious accidents, we will protect the lives and property of the people and safeguard social stability, which is a good way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our founding," Xi said. We have to create an atmosphere.”



(Photo=Pengpai website, Yonhap News)