A deafening explosion at Shandong Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co., Ltd. instantly turned into a tragedy with casualties. The blast, resembling an earthquake, not only shattered windows of nearby shops and residences several kilometers away, but also caused windows of residential buildings about a kilometer away from the accident site to be shaken loose and fall out, leaving “only the frames.” Residents who experienced the destruction of their homes helplessly shouted, “With one loud bang, our homes are gone.”
On May 27th, around 11:57 a.m., an explosion occurred at Youdao Chemical Co., Ltd. in Gaomi City, Weifang, Shandong Province. According to official reports, as of 7:25 p.m. that day, the accident had resulted in 5 deaths, 6 missing persons, and 19 injuries.
Mengjie, a villager living about four to five kilometers away from the explosion center, expressed to the Epoch Times on May 28th that luckily the explosion happened at noon when many people had left the factory to have lunch. If the blast had occurred during working hours, the death toll would have been even higher. He believed that the figures of 5 deaths, 6 missing persons, and 19 injuries had been downplayed and that the true casualties had been concealed.
He resided to the south of the factory. “We were having lunch at home when we heard a loud bang.”
Footage from the scene showed thick yellow and black smoke billowing after the explosion, with unidentified gas leaks from pipelines causing concerns about the spread of toxic substances.
Mengjie mentioned that the toxic smoke drifted with the north wind, causing fear among residents to the north who all wore masks and closed their doors and windows tightly.
He also noted that shortly after the explosion, the police blocked off the roads. It was estimated that the roads would remain closed for a short period of time.
Many videos leaked after the explosion depicted flames shooting up and smoke reaching hundreds of meters high, with the shockwave from the explosion causing extensive shattering of windows in commercial establishments and residential buildings several kilometers away, severely damaging some structures.
According to reports from Vistas News, Youdao Chemical Company is located within Gaomi Renhe Chemical Industrial Park. Zhang Lin, a welder working in the park, stated that while having lunch at a factory in the park around noon, he suddenly heard a deafening blast around 12 o’clock, shaking the entire workshop and shattering all windows in a large factory building.
Zhang, whose workplace was about a kilometer away from the explosion site, went outside to find thick smoke billowing from a company’s workshop in the distance. Metal shards ejected by the explosion also injured workers in his plant, with iron components scattered on the ground and the glass of many vehicles shattered.
He mentioned that he was temporarily working in the industrial park, and his current project had been halted due to the explosion.
On the afternoon of May 27th, Mr. Qi, a resident of Qijia Village near the chemical plant, told local media that his relatives living about 2 kilometers away in Renhe Village had their ceiling panels collapsed and walls blackened after the explosion. Currently, local residents have been evacuated.
A video provided by Mr. Qi showed the damage to his home with the ceiling panels fallen off and exposing the black components, leaving a mess on the floor.
Mr. Qi stated that despite living in a village five kilometers away from the chemical plant, he still vividly felt the impact of the explosion, with doors in his home being pushed open.
One of the most alarming details of the explosion in Gaomi was the residential buildings one kilometer from the blast center being left with “only the frames,” and the whole building of Ms. You, living two kilometers away, shaking.
On the afternoon of the 27th, footage released by local residents displayed windows of multiple homes in a seven-story building already fallen, showing severe damage. Residents who shared the video mentioned that the damaged building was about a kilometer away from the accident site, and their homes were also affected by the explosion, with “only the frames” remaining.
Ms. You, a resident about two kilometers in a straight line from the scene, stated that after hearing the loud bang, she felt the entire building shaking and experienced a brief power outage in the community for nearly an hour, with glass windows of neighbor’s homes shattered.
On social media platforms, witnesses described the explosion with a deafening sound and strong tremors that made many mistake it for an earthquake. Local businesses reported feeling intense vibrations despite being several kilometers from the explosion point, causing shelves with goods to fall and fragile items like glass cups to shatter. Several local residents also shared videos showing the damaged glass, windows, and doors of their storefronts or houses lying on the ground, with bricks falling off.
Local residents are eager to ascertain whether the gas leak would have long-term health effects and are seeking compensation plans for property damage.
However, local officials persistently emphasize “no rumors, do not believe rumors,” fueling public doubt about whether they are trying to conceal the truth and maintain information opacity surrounding the accident.
An interviewee, Mengjie, mentioned that authorities are blocking information dissemination, prohibiting further videos related to the explosion, and detaining those who share such content online. He expressed that explosions frequently occur in various regions of China but are not reported by authorities. He remarked that the end was near for China and everything was going downhill.
Tianyancha App data reveals that Shandong Youdao Chemical Co., Ltd. was established in 2019 and primarily engages in chemical raw materials and chemical product manufacturing. The company’s registered capital is 100 million RMB. Its business scope includes goods import and export, technology import and export, import and export agency, pesticide production, chemical product production and sales, basic chemical raw material manufacturing, and specialized chemical product manufacturing.