Candle vigil for Xi'an blast victims
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China Daily, November 16, 2011
For students at the Kechuanglu Primary School, Tuesday will remain in their memories as the day that they began to cope with the certainty that two of their classmates would never sit among them again.
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People light candles to mourn for the victims of a suspected gas explosion in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. |
Two girls at the school, one 8 and the other 13, died in the gas explosion that destroyed a snack restaurant in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, on Monday, killing 9 people and injuring 37. Word of the disaster prompted school officials to postpone a weekly meeting with students by a day and arrange to provide psychological consultation to those who attended.
Besides the girls who died, four students were injured in the explosion, according to Li Hongjun, principal of the school. They had all been passing by the restaurant on their way to school when the blast occurred.
"After the accident, we made sure to gather our students together and send parents information telling them if their kids were safe or not," Li said. "Starting on Tuesday, we will be giving psychological consultation to the students to help them recover from any psychological wounds the accident may have inflicted."
Jiang Wei, a second-grader at the school, said the explosion has made her afraid to be on the road in front of the restaurant. She said she misses her classmate Wang Miao, the 8-year-old girl killed in the accident.
Wang Wenfang, Wang Miao's aunt, said she believes she could have protected the girl if she had escorted her all the way to the school, rather than letting her go alone after she left the bus.
"I thought when she got off the bus, she would be near the school, and I saw her walk across the street to pass the restaurant on her way to school," she said. "If I have taken her there myself, maybe my body would have protected her from the explosion."
Zhao Zhengyong, governor of Shaanxi province, said he is sorry for those who were hurt in the explosion. He apologized to Xi'an residents on Monday in the midst of paying visits to victims of the disaster who were recovering in nearby hospitals.
"We are very sad that the accident caused such harm to your lives and property," Zhao said to some of the injured people and their relatives at the Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital.
"As the governor, I feel so sorry."
He asked the hospital to do all it can to help the explosion victims.
Ma Qingjiu, head of Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital, where 24 of the victims are being treated, said all of the accident survivors are in stable conditions.
Jiatian International Apartment, the 22-floor building whose first and second floors were seriously damaged in the explosion, was still closed on Tuesday, and publicity officials said about 600 families in the building could return after a check had been conducted to determine whether the structure is safe.
The company that manages the property said the building had mainly housed offices and apartments and most of the residents there used their houses as offices for small companies.
Publicity officials did not mention if the explosion victims will be compensated for their injuries, saying only that the government will pay the cost of their medical treatment.
Starting on Monday afternoon, the city began to check restaurants and other places where gas tanks are regularly used to see if that equipment poses dangers.
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