A powerful explosion tore through a residential community in eastern China, killing at least one person, leaving two others missing, and injuring others, according to Chinese state media CCTV. However, residents have questioned whether the official account fully reflects the scale of the incident.
The blast occurred on Aug. 21 in a detached single-story house in Linyi, a city in Shandong Province.
The explosion sent a shock wave through the surrounding neighborhood, damaging multiple apartment buildings and shattering windows. Several residents told The Epoch Times that people were injured by flying glass and debris. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
CCTV reported that one person had died and two remained missing, while other injured people were taken to hospitals and were not in life-threatening condition. Authorities said a preliminary investigation indicated that the explosion was likely caused by a tenant who was illegally storing explosives used for fishing.
The explanation has prompted questions among some residents, who said the damage appeared extensive and questioned how many people were actually injured.
Extensive Damage
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Videos and photographs circulating after the blast showed heavy damage around the explosion site. Several cars parked near the building were badly damaged, with body panels dented or crushed by debris.
Residents also reported damage inside nearby apartments, including displaced furniture, deformed doors and shattered windows.
One resident, surnamed Zhang, told The Epoch Times that his uncle was in the vicinity when the explosion occurred and heard a massive explosion.
After visiting the site, Zhang said he believed the damage extended beyond the immediate vicinity of the apartment building.
“Cars were blown three or four meters into the air by the shock wave,” he said, adding that he believed more than eight apartment buildings had been affected.
Zhang said residents had suffered injuries from shattered glass and flying debris. He recalled seeing emergency vehicles arriving from several parts of the city.
Another resident, surnamed Zhao, told The Epoch Times his relatives living near the blast had been injured by broken glass and required stitches at a hospital. They were later moved to a hotel because their apartment building was no longer considered habitable.
Questions over Incident
Some residents have expressed particular skepticism about the official casualty figures.
Zhang said he learned from people at the scene that rescuers had found victims while clearing the rubble.
“I went to see it yesterday. It definitely wasn’t just three people. When the excavator had just started working, it dug out two people,” he said.
He also questioned whether the reported death toll accurately captured the scale of the incident.
“The [explosion’s] lethal radius is 30 meters from the explosion, and it happened in a densely populated residential community. How could there have been only one or two deaths?” he said.
Another resident, surnamed Zhou, told The Epoch Times that he had contacted a friend at the Linyi Public Security Bureau after the explosion, who told him there were many injured people and that the matter was very serious.
Zhou estimated that the number of injured people could be in the dozens, but acknowledged that he could not verify the figure.
Authorities have attributed the blast to illegally stored fishing explosives, but residents offered differing accounts of what was kept at the property.
A resident surnamed Han heard the property had been rented to someone involved in making fireworks.
“My mother said the owner rented the house to someone who made fireworks and firecrackers. I don’t really know why the explosion had such a large force,” Han told The Epoch Times.
She said the blast also damaged local infrastructure, including gas pipelines, leaving residents unable to use gas normally.
Han said her mother’s home was farther from the explosion but that the glass door leading to the balcony still shattered.
Meanwhile, residents remain concerned about the safety of damaged buildings, temporary accommodation, and compensation for damaged property.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the residents’ accounts, including the casualty estimates and claims about what was stored at the property.
Li Jing and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
