On December 1st, a heating pipeline burst in the Shahuikou District of Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, resulting in one fatality and one injury according to official reports.
A video shared by a netizen on December 1st showed that around 2:40 PM that day, a heating pipeline near the entrance of Gao Jiyang Sunshine Pharmacy on Hongling Road in Dalian exploded, with steam billowing into the air and water flooding the road.
The video revealed that emergency vehicles, including 120 ambulances, were on the scene indicating that there were likely injuries. A netizen mentioned that after the incident, “the heating in the surrounding area within a 5-kilometer radius was also shut down.”
Several local netizens left comments on the video area disclosing that “On the afternoon of November 1, 2021, there was also a burst in the same area just over 50 meters west of this explosion site. After a gap of four years and a month, another burst occurred in almost the same location. There seems to be a problem with this section of the pipeline.” “Hongling Road is very ominous! It bursts every winter! It’s not easy living next to a furnace!” “The boiler room in this neighborhood used to have circulating pump valves. Later, the thermal power company took over and the heating was very good. In recent years, there may have been personnel changes, suddenly it’s not warm anymore, the water pipes in the neighborhood are scalding hot, the return pipes are icy, and the circulation is not functioning. In the years following this change, bursts seem to happen almost every year.”
According to a report by the Beijing News, the accident resulted in injuries to some staff members in a pharmacy along the street, and the affected road section has been closed to traffic.
On December 2nd, the Housing and Construction Bureau of the Shahuikou District in Dalian announced that at around 2:40 PM on December 1st, a heating main pipeline in front of Building 102 on Hongling Road burst, resulting in “one fatality and one burn injury.”
As per the notification, the repair of the heating pipeline network in the area has been completed, heating has been restored, and the road surface has been repaired. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.