On the morning of August 17, there were multiple explosions at the intersection of Jiefang West Road and Fengsheng Street in Tiexi District, Anshan City, Liaoning Province. Dashcam footage captured the moments of the explosions, leaving many large craters on the road surface. Official reports stated that there were no casualties.
August 17, a netizen posted a video claiming that a sudden explosion occurred on a main road in the Tiexi District of Anshan. Smoke billowed, and the explosion created many large craters on the road surface, with parts of the road even buckling. Footage taken by several residents showed the collapsed road surface at the site of the incident.
Some netizens speculated that it might have been an underground pipeline explosion, as “multiple manhole covers were blown into the air along the road, causing severe damage to the road surface.”
In the afternoon of the 17th, a reporter from the Xiaoxiang Morning News contacted a witness, Ms. Liu, of the explosion. Her auto body painting shop is located at the intersection of Jiefang West Road and Fengsheng Street, only a few meters away from the site of the explosion.
According to her recollections, the explosion occurred around 10:30 a.m. that day while she was chatting with someone at the entrance of her shop. Debris blasted into the sky and fell around her. The first thing Ms. Liu thought of was her child who was still inside the shop. She hurried inside to check on the situation, luckily finding her child unharmed.
The Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter reached out to the Anshan Fire and Rescue Brigade, but the staff mentioned that it was inconvenient to disclose the specific cause of the explosion.
Through the 24-hour customer service hotline of the Anshan Huarun Gas Company, the reporter learned that the company had issued a pressure reduction notice for the relevant section of Jiefang West Road and was organizing pipeline repairs. Gas supply was expected to resume by 7 p.m.
The Tiexi District Emergency Management Bureau of Anshan City reported that at 10:34 a.m. on August 17, a flash explosion occurred at the intersection of Jiefang West Road and Fengsheng Street in Tiexi District, Anshan City, with no casualties. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
The official responses sparked discussions among netizens.
“Some truly do not understand what is inconvenient. Tell the truth, what is it? The public knowing the truth can prevent similar incidents. So what is the inconvenience?” “What is so inconvenient to disclose??” “The gas company rushing to repair pipelines – isn’t this just adding suspicion to the case?”
Some netizens also analyzed, “In the summer, not only natural gas leaks from underground pipelines can cause explosions, but also underground sewers. If there is a sufficient concentration of hydrogen sulfide and methane, they can also explode, causing even smaller explosions that can send manhole covers flying tens of meters. If there are no manholes to release the pressure, a bigger explosion could further damage the road surface. The thick sludge in the underground sewers can lead to the accumulation of highly flammable methane.”