Rescue workers searched roadsides and homes for bodies in south-west China on Friday after the worst gas disaster in the country’s history killed at least 198 people, many of whom died in their sleep as a deadly cloud passed through their villages. More than 9 000 residents have been treated for poisoning and some remain in a critical condition.
With the source of the hydrogen sulphide gas still not capped, more than 41 000 people have been evacuated from the area, which the local media have dubbed the ”death zone”, in Kaixian county, Chongqing municipality.
The gas was released in a blowout at the Chuandongbei natural gas field, about 320km north-east of Chongqing city late on Tuesday night.
The first to die were two workers killed in the initial explosion when they accidentally drilled through the wall of a gas well near the remote mountain town of Gaoqiao.
Toxic fumes then wafted across a large area, killing hundreds of people and animals living nearby.
Many victims died in their beds. Others were killed as they attempted to flee the foul-smelling cloud. A reporter from the Shanghai Morning Post, who reached the area on Thursday, saw at least six bodies, including those of a young boy and his mother lying on a road. Pets, livestock and birds — many with white foam dripping from their beaks and nostrils — were seen scattered around the area.
Another paper reported the heroism of a lorry driver who rescued 400 people by making 20 trips in and out of the affected area.
One woman who lived close to the well tried to run from the gas with her five-year-old daughter, but by the time they reached safety the girl had stopped breathing.
Newspaper photos showed bodies lying in onion fields, and rescued children with red faces and inflamed eyes.
According to the Xinhua news agency, 9 185 people were treated for gas poisoning and other injuries. Of the 431 still in hospital on Friday night, 17 remained in a critical condition.
Gas continues to seep from the broken well, but its toxicity has been reduced by burning off the hydrogen. On Friday night flames could still be seen lighting up the mountainside.
Emergency teams from the China National Petroleum Corporation, which operates the gas field, plan to seal the well with concrete on Saturday. Local officials said their priority was to provide supplies to the refugees staying at makeshift centres in schools and public buildings.
Supplies of bedding, drinking water and instant noodles began arriving on Friday morning, an official of the Chongqing civilian affairs rescue department told reporters.
The political fallout is still unclear. China has an appalling industrial safety record; despite the new government’s attempt to tighten regulations, industrial accidents killed more than 11 000 people in the first nine months of this year — an increase of 8,8% on the same period last year.
Questions are being asked about the slow response of the operators and emergency services to the gas leak, which remains a threat four days after the blowout. The authorities blamed the delay on the remote location of Gaoqiao, which only has a single paved road to link it to the nearest big town 64km away.
”Poor transport and communications facilities hampered the timely evacuation of all people from nearby areas when the accident occurred at Tuesday midnight,” said Wu Jianong, the vice-mayor of Chongqing. — Guardian Unlimited Â