Posted on 05/14/2008 12:37:27 AM PDT by stlnative
bkmark.
more than 12,000 now, it’s increaing.....
Thanks for your comments. They were informative and I appreciated them.
read leader story to thread - 20,000+ now
Fire on derailed freight train finally put out
2008-05-14 15:56:58
WUDU, Gansu, May 14 (Xinhua) — The fire on a train carrying gasoline derailed by Monday’s earthquake was finally been put out on Wednesday morning.
The 40-car freight train, including 12 gasoline tankers , was derailed inside a tunnel in northwest China when Monday’s massive earthquake struck.
The fire had burnt about 40 hours before it was put out at 6 a.m. Wednesday on the Baoji-Chengdu railway in Huixian County, Gansu Province. Firefighters used more than 20,000 sandbags and hundreds of wet quilts to cover the north exit and vents of the tunnel, to starve the fire of oxygen.
The Baoji-Chengdu railway is still suspended.
“Today’s job is to pour water and foam into the tunnel to prevent the fire from burning again,” said Vice Minister of Railways Lu Chunfang, who is in charge of the fire control operation.
When conditions were ripe, the derailed cars would be put on the track and moved out of the tunnel, Lu said.
People could not enter the tunnel at the moment because of the heat, poisonous gas and the danger of explosion.
More than 1,600 residents were evacuated, an official with the Huixian County disaster relief headquarters said.
The heat of the blaze could be felt 100 meters away on Tuesday.
The train just entered the tunnel in Huixian County at 2:28 p.m. on Monday when the massive quake struck. The train had been en route from Baoji, Shaanxi Province to Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, said Wang Hongtao, deputy director of the Xi’an Railway Bureau’s general office.
Huge rocks blocked the tunnel exit. The driver put on the brakes, but the train still hit the rocks at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, leading to the derailment of the locomotive and 38 carriages, Wang added.
The locomotive caught fire first, and flames then engulfed the tankers.
Two train drivers were injured and have been sent to hospital. They were recovering on Tuesday afternoon.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/14/content_8169167.htm
Thanks for the information DB. That’s good to know.
I watch the Science and Discovery channels. The other day I caught a program that showed how they are building some manufactured homes for replacement of the homes lost to Katrina.
They’ve really got it down to a science. By the time they are done, that home is basically one single piece. All sections are glued together. It’s supposed to be able to stand up to 160 MPH winds.
It would seem some of those tricks could be utilized in normal homes, so that they would stay in tact during earthquakes above 7.0, perhaps up to 8.0 or higher. I know they are already using a lot of trick, and perhaps they’ve incorporated all the same tricks, into the homes you’re talking about.
As long as they stay on the foundation, they should remain quite solid. Even if the foundation shifted, at least the home wouldn’t crumble in on the occupants.
China had indicated it was willing to accept international assistance but yesterday suggested the conditions were not appropriate to allow foreign rescue teams into the country.
They thanked us for the offer but given the transport and communications challenges in the region (they said it) means that the foreign rescue teams coming into the country could not be received at this point.”
Right now is when they need them the most. You have to get to people quickly, or they are lost. Delaying, will cost lives. That’s a shame.
I just suspect China is still nervous about letting us fly around the nation with our aircraft. They may not want the Chinese people to see our modern aircraft, vehicles, supplies and food stuffs either.
“What, Americans don’t hate us? They aren’t devils?”
Can’t have that get out.
Has anyone let the new folks from China who signed on know about this new thread?
I posted a link to it on the old thread that they are hanging out on in a larger than normal font, so they should see it.
the post is here on the old thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2014670/posts?page=1190#1190
old thread starting at post 1...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2014670/posts?page=1
Time for some sleep...
I’ll be back when I wake with more headlines.
Prayers for the Chinese during this difficult time!
thanks for all the updated information about this epic tragedy for the people and land of China.
Cannot stop praying for the survivors and for those who have lost everything including loved ones...
It is an overwhelming devastation on such a massive scale...my hat is off to all those in China who are working hard to help those suffering so terribly.
China has an army of what, 200 million or so? They have many resources to bring to the region in such desperate need. And, yes, many countries around the world would like to help however they can.
Some NGO’s are already at work in China as in Burma (Christian relief groups specifically)...Quietly without fanfare.
China is much more open than Myanmar, and much more effective in saving, the PLA has arrived the seismic center to rescue the survivors, though it was delayed by the heavy rains and bad roads.
it’s really really bad...
only 2,000 survived among 13,000
prayers up...
Please see the real photoes from Shifang,Sichuan province.
http://laiba.tianya.cn/laiba/CommMsgs?cmm=281&tid=2599846442034078635
Come on mate, I live in Shanghai and all the people in China love the States, except some brainwashed kids in college. And the people here know the States better than the Americans know China.
You need to come to Shanghai have a look, cheers!
China has 2.3 million troops :)
Amazing pictures - heart wrenching - but so many good people helping ..... prayers.
Thanks for that information. 2.3 million is all? I am surprised.
one more before I shut down...
16:58, May 14, 2008
178 students confirmed dead in one school in Sichuan
In one single school in earthquake-hit Sichuan Province 178 students were confirmed dead on Wednesday morning.
A three-storied residential building at the Muyu Middle School in Qingchuan County collapsed in the quake, burying 285 students who were taking noon nap. Another 139 students escaped.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 178 were confirmed dead, 84 buried students were rescued and 23 others remained missing, according to Chen Zhengyong, head of the county government.
Source:Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6410776.html
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