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Firefighters are trying to control the fire at a warehouse in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province in the early morning on Feb. 14, 2008. Thunderous explosions destroyed all fireworks and firecrackers in the warehouse, and only two people suffered slight bruises from broken glass. It was reported that the explosion could be felt kilometers away. (Xinhua Photo)
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Firefighters in south China's Guangdong Province began to clear up the debris as explosions caused by fireworks stored in 20 warehouses in Foshan City stopped by 10 a.m. on Friday.
Five people, including four warehouse guards, were questioned by police in connection with the incident, said a spokesman for Foshan's Sanshui District Communist Party of China (CPC) committee.
The blasts started around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday at the No. 7 building of the Yuetong Warehouse and Transport Co., a private firm based in Sanshui, on the northern bank of the Pearl River.
Only two people suffered slight bruises from broken glass.
The blasts set a neighboring woods on fire, an official with the Foshan government said.
Windows were shattered and metal doors were damaged up to a kilometer away, and steel structural debris from the warehouses was found close by. Many residents said they thought the area had been hit by an earthquake.
Liang Gan, Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Seismology deputy director, said the fireworks explosion produced the energy equivalent to a 1.1 degree tremor on the Richter scale.
"The explosion didn't cause any damage to the geological structure and therefore was definitely unable to lead to a full-size earthquake," Liang said. "So there is no need to panic."
Fang Gengming, Sanshui District work safety bureau head, confirmed the explosions started bush fires on nearby hills, but declined to give more details of the damage.
To expel panic among residents, the seismic authority in Foshan sent text messages to explain the situation to the general public shortly after the explosions happened.
About 200 migrant workers and nearby residents were evacuated from their homes. More than 650 police, fire-fighters and soldiers rushed to the site, but were driven back by the blasts.
Guangdong has banned production of fireworks in the province. The Yuetong Warehouse and Transport Co. is said to handle 60 to 70 percent of China's exported fireworks, most of which are made in neighboring Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.
Investigations into the cause of the explosion and an assessment of the damage are underway.
Firefighters are rushing to a firing warehouse in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province in the early morning on Feb. 14, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)
Photo shows blazing warehouses and firecrackers exploding in the air. More than 15,000 cartons of fireworks stored in 20 warehouses in southern China's Foshan city exploded on Thursday, February 14, 2008. [Photo: Foshan Daily]
More than 15,000 cartons of fireworks stored in 20 warehouses in southern China's Foshan City exploded on Thursday, but no casualties have been reported, local officials said.
Investigations into the initial cause of the incident are under way.
The blast occurred around 3:30 AM on Thursday in Sanshui District, Foshan City, which is in the southern province of Guangdong. Several heavy explosions were heard and the blasts set neighboring woods on fire, an official with the Foshan city government said.
Four security guards who were watching the 11-hectare warehouse area and nearby villagers were evacuated. More than 650 police, fire-fighters and soldiers were fighting to contain the fire, he said.
The local newspaper Foshan Daily said that the explosions lasted over a five-hour period and steel structural debris was found 1,000 meters away on a highway. Windows in homes about 5 kilometers away were shattered, and many local residents were quoted as saying they thought that the area had been hit by an earthquake.
Most of the fireworks were made in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces and had been temporarily stored in the warehouses, owned by a local company, for export.
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Editor: Yan
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