A Ticking Bomb Went Off

A ticking bomb in Nanjing went off on July 25, 2010, one years after it had been planted. More than 10 people died, thousands injured.

A post at Xici Alley (deleted 2 days after the explosion) which was dated 2009 predicted the explosion and the catastrophic human loss at the exact location. In the past two years, local residents had been protesting the construction of a Level-1 gas station in the middle of dense residential area, with no buffering at all. The local police hired gangsters to beat dozens of local residents to silence the protest. The construction went on, despite the dangerous location and ailing underground pipings. According to a national ordnance issued by the Department of Construction in 2006, a Level-1 gas station should not be built in urban area. However, there are two Level-1 gas stations at the location. In theory, there were all illegal, although they were built and owned by the government.

Two months ago, a construction digger broke the underground pipe, when 2,000 residents were temporarily relocated without an explosive incident. However, the luck ran out this time.

Witnesses described the explosion like a nuclear bomb set off in busy downtown. Some glasses were braked by the impact even being miles away.

After the explosion, the No. 1 priority of the government was to block the news. A local TV station team was scoffed by the Provincial Propaganda Chief of the CCP, Mr. Ye Hao on air to stop broadcasting from the scene.

News agencies were told not to talk about the incident, and only the central propaganda agencies were allowed to release a brief message, while focusing on assuring the nation the blast was harmless. A snapshot of the CCTV shows an ironic caption: "The harmful chemical released is indeed harmless."