China tanker crash blast and fire kills 20
05 July 2012
At least 20 people were killed and another 27 injured in explosions triggered by solvent oil that leaked from a tanker truck involved in a crash with another truck in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on June 30. According to China Daily, the oil flowed into a drain under the Yanjiang Expressway flyover, then caught fire and burned buildings and a container yard.
Most of the dead were migrant wood product workers living under the Guangzhou flyover
Most of the people killed were sleeping in a wood product market under the flyover, according to those who escaped from the fire.
The tanker truck was carrying 40 metric tons of oil, according to the Guangzhou city government.
Twenty-nine fire engines and 185 firefighters were dispatched to extinguish the fire and to rescue the injured. It took four hours to put out the fire, which covered more than 2,000 square meters, according to the Yangcheng Evening News.