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Posted on 04/20/2007 6:38:49 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Workers recount tragedy at China steel factory
by Robert J. Saiget
Thu Apr 19, 3:18 AM ET
Survivors of a horrific industrial accident in northeast China Thursday recounted the gruesome scene at their factory when 26 tonnes of molten steel poured into a meeting room, killing 32 workers.
A steel ladle sheared off a blast furnace, sending liquid metal into the room and engulfing workers as they prepared for their shift Wednesday morning.
"All those boys are gone, only the guys that were just about to get off work were lucky enough to escape," the Beijing News quoted survivor Jiao Zhengyan as saying.
"The molten steel is 1,500 Centigrade (2,732 degrees Fahrenheit) as it hits the ground and spills all over, the heat wave rushes over you and your clothes burn off. I didn't have time to think about it, I just ran to save my life."
The accident happened at Qinghe Special Steel Corp, a relatively modern facility in China's former industrial heartland in Liaoning province.
Six other workers were injured in the accident with one suffering burns over 60 percent of his body.
Those killed in the accident were burnt beyond recognition, and authorities said they would have to use DNA testing to identify the victims.
"Right after the accident, I went to the scene, but there was no one in the room, they had all been consumed by the steel," another unidentified worker at the factory told the New Express daily. "All that was in the room was a 70-square-meter block of steel."
Worker Jiao said he was near the ladle when an apparent brake failure on the crane sent the bucket crashing into a platform car and raining liquid steel onto the workers.
"It hit a platform car and then started spilling molten steel in the direction of the shift transfer room where they were having their safety meeting. That was the most tragic moment," said Jiao, 38.
Another survivor, Zhou Xiaofei, said a shower of molten steel began raining down on him as he exited the factory as fast as he could.
"We were preparing to change the shift when suddenly I heard a loud bang, I immediately knew something was wrong, and I ran for my life, but big drops of molten steel spilled on me," Zhou said.
"I just ran, if I had hesitated for a moment, even to turn and look, then I might not have made it out of there alive."
Zhou went into surgery at a local hospital on Thursday, suffering burns over his face, arms and legs.
The accident highlights China's dismal industrial safety record and came as the government prepared to announce Thursday yet another double-digit expansion of the nation's booming economy in the first quarter of 2007.
The head of the workshop where the accident occurred and the machine operator and technician of the workshop have all been taken into custody and are under investigation, local police said.
"Families of victims will receive at least 200,000 yuan (25,800 dollars) each in compensation," Xinhua reported, quoting unnamed officials.
China's work safety administration said the factory employed some 300 workers, while Xinhua said the plant was relatively new, established in 1987, and employed 650 workers.
Ping!
Damn Tiger I hear of mine explosion in China boy this take the cake
What an awful way to go... horrible.
Horrible absolutely horrible. What a terrible way to die.
Talk about irony...
Yikes! I'm surprised there is anything left to get DNA from. China needs an OSHA and labor unions so we can level the playing field.
Not to mention ironic.
post of the day nomination!
Rather poor plant design at the very least. You never put unprotected people in harm’s way.
Whoa! Would that it had been Cho instead of these innocents. Maybe it is that way for him now and for eternity.
Shades of Newcor Bump.
They lost a ladle, crane failure and spilled 15 tons on to
the shop floor, which being new was still damp, resultant
steam explosions blew molten steel up through roof, it then fell as solidified chunks ranging in size from baseball to ashcan. This was a new crane, it can still happenl.
Liquid Steel, Most exciting.
Hand me that jet tapper and lets draw some metal.
I hope Psy-Cho will now experience this sensation every day in hell.
What a sad tragedy.
But I’m confused, didn’t Rosie O’Doughnut tell us that “This is the first time in history (on 911) that fire has ever melted steel.”? Wonder how that steel in China got so hot?
(sad sarcasm)
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That [steel shower onto a meeting] is what normally happens in cases of acute meetingitis. Either that, or a massive sewer backup. “Thou shalt not meetingize too much”.
Not to make light of what happened, but at 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit anyone in the immediate vicinity would probably have died almost instantly, at the very most after just a few seconds. It’s awful what happened, but I think almost all those that died didn’t actually suffer much (something to actually be grateful for, if that is possible).
Right. Swimming in a liquid steel pool in Hell.
Right.
You have a point. It could be much harder for victim's family than victims themselves. My sincere condolence to those perished and their families.
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Relatives of victims grieve outside a plant of the Qinghe Special Steel Co. Ltd. in Tieling, in northeast China's Liaoning province in this April 18, 2007 picture. An industrial ladle of molten metal spilt its load at the Chinese steelworks on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring two, Xinhua News Agency said. Picture taken April 18, 2007. REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA) CHINA OUT 
Relatives grieve over the death of workers killed in an accident at a steel factory in Tieling, in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, Wednesday, April 18, 2007. A piece of heavy equipment at the plant broke off while transporting molten steel, killing at least 32 workers and injuring two others on Wednesday, the state work safety watchdog said. (AP Photo/EyePress) 
Damaged equipment is seen in a workshop after an accident at a steel factory in Tieling, in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, Wednesday, April 18, 2007. A piece of heavy equipment at the plant broke off while transporting molten steel, killing at least 32 workers and injuring two others on Wednesday, the state work safety watchdog said. (AP Photo/EyePress) 
Technicians investigate a steel ladle of molten metal which spilt its load at a plant of the Qinghe Special Steel Co. Ltd. in Tieling, northeast China's Liaoning province April 18, 2007. Thirty-two workers were confirmed dead and six others injured on Wednesday after molten metal spewed through the steel plant, local work safety authorities said. Picture taken April 18, 2007. REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA) CHINA OUT