Qinghe Special Steel Corporation Disaster - Event

Event

At 7:45 AM local time, the ladle in question separated from the overhead iron rail that connected it to the blast furnace while it was being positioned over a worktable in preparation to pour out its contents. All 30 tons of liquid steel, which were at a temperature of approximatively 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,730 F), were spilt. This liquid steel then burst through the windows and door of an adjoining room five meters (fifteen feet) away where workers had gathered during a change of shifts, engulfing the room entirely.

When the emergency services arrived, they were initially unable to provide assistance as they were forced back by the high temperatures, and had to first wait for the area to cool. When they were eventually able to access the area, they discovered thirty-two workers had been killed by the steel. Six others in the room survived and were rushed to the hospital with severe burns. According to doctors, five were initially listed as being in a stable condition, with the other listed as critical. They were said to be of risk of contracting infections through their burns. However, an earlier statement on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety published conflicting information, saying that the thirty-two deceased represented everyone in the room at the time, and that only two people were injured - the operators of the ladle. The official Xinhua press agency also released a report stating that the ladle fell on workers below, but this was unclear as in to whether the workers were in fact crushed or whether this, too, conflicted with the other reports.

After rescuing the six survivors, rescuers then recovered the bodies of the thirty-two deceased.