46 injured in balloon explosion in Turkey (hundreds of ballons expode at political rally)

Ananova ^ | 4/27/02 | Staff

[LarryLied]

Hundreds of small decorative balloons filled with hydrogen have exploded in flames at a political rally in Turkey, injuring 46 people.

Dozens of balloons caught fire in the southern city of Malatya, local reporters say.

The victims, who suffered burns, were rushed to a provincial hospital.

Hundreds of balloons, about 40cms (16 inches) in height, were tied together and one apparently exploded while party officials were pumping hydrogen into it.

In Turkey, highly flammable hydrogen is often put in balloons instead of helium because it is cheaper.

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Some body call Darwin...

[finnsheep]

Now about that hydrogen fuel cell car....

[Ann Archy]

Isn't Hydrogen what the Eco-Geeks want us to fill our cars with in the future?

[Crawdad]

Follow the yellow brick road.

[TheOtherOne]

A couple more tidbits:

46 injured in balloon explosion in Turkey
 
11:05 ET
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Hundreds of small decorative balloons filled with hydrogen exploded in flames Saturday before a political rally, injuring 46 people.

Dozens of balloons caught fire as people gathered to listen to the pro-Islamic politician Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a meeting of his Justice and Development Party in the southern city of Malatya, local reporters said.

The victims, who suffered burns, were rushed to a provincial hospital.

Hundreds of balloons, about 40 centimeters (more than a foot) in height, were tied together and one apparently exploded while party officials were pumping hydrogen into it. In Turkey, highly flammable hydrogen is often put in balloons instead of helium because it is cheaper.

Erdogan was also in the news earlier this week, when he was ordered Thursday to stand trial on charges of insulting the military and praising Islamic groups in Afghanistan in a speech he made a decade ago.

(sh/tr)

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

"Oh, the humanity...!!"

[I_dmc]

Have you seen "Chain Reaction"? A sizeable tank of hydrogen
would be similar to a small nuclear weapon.

[Procyon]

A heartbreaking setback for the nascent Turkish dirigible industry.

[LarryLied]

Hear the DNC is having trouble raising money. Perhaps we can convince them to economize on their rallies by using hydrogen in their balloons too.

Tell them hydrogen is more friendly to the environment too .

[Dog Gone]

I was alarmed until I read that this occurred at a meeting of Islamic Fundamentalists.

Now I see this as merely an example of Allah's will.

[nothingnew]

In Turkey, highly flammable hydrogen is often put in balloons instead of helium because it is cheaper.

DOH!!

FMCDH

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Well, if anybody dies, the authorities can inform the next-of-kin by starting: "I don't want to burst your balloon..." I predict that some smartass newspaper editor will craft a headline around that phrase. Something like "Turkey rally has its balloon(s) burst". These editors are too clever by half, but not half as clever as they think they are.

[aomagrat]

[good_ash]

Have you seen "Chain Reaction"? A sizeable tank of hydrogen would be similar to a small nuclear weapon.

Um, you do know taht movie was a work of fiction, right???

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

This is what came to my mind, too (#7).

[good_ash]

Isn't Hydrogen what the Eco-Geeks want us to fill our cars with in the future?

Isn't gasoline what we have in our cars now?

[Icthus]

Are we sure this wasn't a terrorist ballooning.....

[maximus@Nashville]

I think that hydrogen has a much lower flashpoint than gasoline. But the bigger difference in that hydrogen, being a gas, must be stored under pressure in the vehicle. Propane conversion has been available for many years, but we only see it on large vehicles like municipal buses and such, since they have the necessary mass to protect the tack from being crushed in an accident and causing explosive decompression.