Two people were killed in a suspected overturn and fire of an oil tanker in Loudi, Hunan on September 13, which also affected a nearby residential house causing it to be burned down.
According to a report by the Loudi City Fire Rescue Brigade in Hunan, at 12:13 on the 13th, the fire brigade received a report from the public that an oil tanker overturned and caught fire while traveling on the G234 National Road in Shibucun, Loudi City.
By 13:38, the fire at the scene was extinguished, and two people were found dead, preliminarily identified as the driver and passenger of the oil tanker.
Local villagers told the reporter from “Xinjing News” that around noon, they heard a loud noise from a distance, initially thinking it was thunder. Later, when they looked out from their balcony, they saw a huge fireball in the distance, with thick smoke spreading, which was quite frightening.
The fire was so intense that the oil tanker was burned into a metal frame. A nearby residential house was also affected by the fire and engulfed in flames.
On the same afternoon, officials from the Wanbao Town government stated that the fire had been extinguished, the area was still under control, and claimed that there were no residents inside the burned house.
However, some local netizens questioned this statement: “Who said it was an empty house? That’s my grandmother’s house”, “There were pots, pans, TV, refrigerator, and other appliances inside the house. My 80-year-old grandmother fainted while trying to climb down from the second floor, my uncle and aunt carried her out to a safe area. My aunt’s face was burned. Currently, both my grandmother and aunt are in the hospital.”