Investigation Report on One Death and One Injury Caused by a Transport Vehicle Flash Explosion Near an Illegal Dry Gas Loading Point in Yan'an
On August 24th, the official website of Baota District, Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province, announced the "Investigation Report on the General Flash Explosion Accident of Shaanxi Zhitian Industrial Co., Ltd.'s" 4-10 "Natural Gas Transport Vehicles on Chuankou Road in Baota District.
On April 10, 2023, a natural gas transportation vehicle general flash explosion accident occurred on the road in Qiangyao Group, Dangzhuang Village, Chuankou Town, Baota District, resulting in one death and one minor injury. Direct economic loss of 3.1 million yuan.
On April 10th at 13:19, the vehicle pulled the container that had already been loaded with dry gas from the illegal dry gas loading point, preparing to depart and send it to Xiaohaotu Township, Yuyang District, Yulin City. When driving about 210 meters away from the illegal dry gas loading point, the driver stopped the car. About 5 minutes later, at 13:26:37 seconds, multiple flash explosions occurred one after another.
After a flash explosion occurred, the driver was pushed towards the rear of the vehicle by the air wave and was pressed down by the flying tailgate. The escort was pushed towards the right rear of the vehicle and rolled down to a low-lying mountain valley. The seals at the tail ends of eight onboard CNG storage tanks failed, and high-pressure gas in the tanks spewed out at high speed one by one, causing multiple flash explosions and continuous combustion, resulting in the driver's death, the escort's injury, and serious damage to the CNG vehicle.
![Investigation Report on One Death and One Injury Caused by a Transport Vehicle Flash Explosion Near an Illegal Dry Gas Loading Point in Yan'an](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/725213490a6e3b732843ac35d8234d33.png)
After the flash explosion accident, personnel at the illegal dry gas loading point heard the sound of the explosion and found iron plates flying into the dry gas loading site. At that time, gas tanks were still stored in the site. Out of instinct for escape, five staff members ran to the nearby back mountain to avoid the explosion. The accident vehicle escort was briefly unconscious by the explosion. At around 15:15, the escort woke up and reported to the 110 Command Center of Yan'an Public Security Bureau.
The expert group, after comprehensive analysis and inference, believes that the direct cause of the accident is:
When the CNG tanker entered the dry gas loading point, the driver noticed that the fuel gas in the vehicle's fuel cylinder was insufficient, and requested the staff at the dry gas loading point to refuel the vehicle but failed. After loading the CNG container, the driver drove about 200 meters away from the dry gas loading point and stopped. The escort assisted the driver in using high-pressure natural gas from the CNG storage tank loaded in the vehicle to refuel the vehicle's fuel cylinder. Due to the valve opening too fast, the gas filling pipe became loose or burst due to overpressure and other reasons. The natural gas in the eight high-pressure storage tanks loaded with CNG sprayed out vigorously one by one, forming an explosive mixture with air in a short period of time. The high-pressure dry gas sprayed out at high speed and then mixed with the pipe mouth and the dry gas. Air friction generates static electricity accumulation, followed by electrostatic discharge, which in turn triggers multiple flash explosions.
The investigation report suggests dealing with 11 responsible persons.
![Investigation Report on One Death and One Injury Caused by a Transport Vehicle Flash Explosion Near an Illegal Dry Gas Loading Point in Yan'an](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/bd318124104de9ed88a975693911464a.png)