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https://scmp.com/news/china/article/1365685/human-error-blamed-qingdao-oil-pipeline-explosion China
Human error blamed for Qingdao oil pipeline explosion
Poor planning of oil and sewer pipes, and negligence after leak was discovered, led to explosion, work safety investigators say
Sinopec safety officers inspect the site of the oil leak in Qingdao three hours before Friday's blast in a residential area. Photo: Xinhua
Investigators have blamed human error for the oil pipeline explosion that killed at least 55 people in Qingdao.
Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said poor planning and maintenance of the pipeline, plus negligence after it was found to be leaking oil, led to the blast on Friday in the eastern port city.
About 136 people were injured in the explosion in the residential area of the city. Nine are still missing.
"The serious damage in this incident has highlighted major problems, including the location of the pipelines and the sewerage grid and the negligent maintenance of the oil pipeline that caused the oil leak,'' Yang said.
"There was an inadequate response after the leak was found. They did not seal off the area and evacuate people. This is a serious lapse of responsibility,'' Yang told a meeting after a preliminary investigation by the state council in Qingdao.
Yang ordered safety checks on oil and gas pipelines across the nation.
The Qingdao provincial government has posted a report from state television on its official microblog saying investigators were aware of the delay of several hours in evacuating residents from the area after oil was found to be leaking from the pipeline and their findings will be announced later.
The pipeline is operated by the nation's biggest oil refiner Sinopec. The energy company's vice-president, Li Chunguang, apologised at the same meeting.
"To the people of Qingdao and the whole nation, we are sorry," he said at the meeting.
The blast, Sinopec's deadliest known accident and the most serious industrial calamity publicly reported in China this year, occurred partly because lessons were not learned from another deadly accident in the same area of Qingdao in 1989, Caixin magazine reported.
The series of explosions 24 years ago took place in Huangdao district when one of five oil tanks was hit by lightning.
Video: Qingdao pipeline leak explosion
Within hours, the fire spread which led to the explosions of the other four tanks, all of which were located within 1.5 square kilometres and were being used to store more than 40,000 tonnes of crude oil in total.
The area soon turned into a blazing inferno as the fire engulfed nearby roads and houses. Firefighters trying to stop the fire from spreading after the explosion in 1989 were not able to evacuate the area in time before the other tanks exploded.
The blaze lasted for more than four days and claimed the lives of 19 firefighters, Caixin said.