Gas explosion in Belgian province Hainaut kills 15, wounds hundreds

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http://vrtnieuws.telenet-media.be/nieuwsnet_master/default/nieuws/overzicht/040730_Gellingen_explosie/N_040730_Gasexplosie_Vuurzee-20040730-123107.jpg
vr 30/07/04 - In Ghislenghien in de provincie Henegouwen zijn zeker vijftien mensen omgekomen bij een enorme gasontploffing. Honderd mensen zouden verwondingen hebben opgelopen. De oorzaak van de explosie is een lek in een ondergrondse gasleiding.

http://vrtnieuws.telenet-media.be/nieuwsnet_master/default/nieuws/overzicht/040730_Gellingen_explosie/N_040730_Gasexplosie_Vuur_parking_mens_META-20040730-122949.jpg
fr 30/07/04 - In ghislenghien in the province Hainaut, fifteen people were killed in a huge gas explosion. Hundreds are wounded. The cause of the explosion is a leak in an underground gas pipe.

Looking for complete English article.

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CNN

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- An explosion Friday of a natural gas pipeline killed at least 15 people and injured at least 60 others, including firefighters and police responding to a reported leak, Belgian media reported.

The explosion in the industrial area of Ghislenghien, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Brussels, happened after construction workers pierced an underground gas distribution line, acting provincial governor Guy Petit said.

Two nearby factories also caught fire from the morning blast, which was reportedly felt several kilometers away.

Residents were advised to stay indoors with their windows and doors shut to keep out the toxic smoke that hung over the area, but no evacuation was ordered.

Army units were called in to help coordinate the disaster response, including the closure of the E429 motorway through the area, with cars forced to exit at Ath or Enghien. Six Belgian military helicopters helped ferry victims to area hospitals, including the burn unit at a Belgian military hospital.

Officials in northern France also sent 10 vehicles, a medical unit and a helicopter to help out.

Belgian broadcaster VRT reported at least 15 dead, and other media quoted Guy Demeulemeester, manager of the industrial park, saying at least 60 were injured.

Federal officials declined to confirm casualty figures. "We want to be absolutely sure before we give out numbers," said Els Kleemput, spokeswoman for the Belgian federal police.

A federal crisis center was coordinating emergency services and hospitals. Health Minister Rudy Demotte's office said he would interrupt his vacation in Bulgaria, returning by military aircraft to tour hospitals on Saturday.

Gas distributor Fluxys said the natural gas line that exploded ran from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to France. It said a leak was reported Friday morning, and half an hour later the explosion occurred.

Firefighters and police were at the scene at the time of the blast and were among the injured, according to the Interior Ministry.

A Flemish report is available at www.vrtnieuws.net . CNN is obviously running behind, their news isn't very actual.

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Reminds me of AZF in Toulouse in 2001. :(
My condoleances to the families.

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Very sorry to hear about this. BBC currently reporting 14 dead, 200 injured. My condolences to all involved. :(

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The latest news: 14 dead, around 200 injured of which 100 with burns. The people who were wounded by fire have been taken to hospitals by helicopter. The gas leak is restored, but I don't know about the two factories that were set on fire.

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Sad news indeed. First thoughts to the firemen involved who were killed.

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My condolences to all the victims and their families.

Is there a French version of the article? (I don't speak Flemish, despite the fact I was a resident of Belgium for four years)

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The King and our gov't said this was a true disaster for the whole of our country and therefor there will be a day of national mourning. Our armed forces have acted very fast and professional. Sea King helicopters and Agusta's have been used to transport people to the military hospitals in Belgium and France.

In such a little country as Belgium disasters like this don't happen a lot. This is the worst disaster since 40 years.

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Deadly gas explosion rocks Belgium
Friday, July 30, 2004 Posted: 1548 GMT (2348 HKT)

The explosion occurred about 30 minutes after a leak was reported.

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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- At least 10 people were killed and 100 others injured when a leaking underground natural gas pipeline exploded in southern Belgium, officials said.

The blast occurred about 8:30 a.m. Friday as workers were repairing the leak. Firefighters and police responding to the leak were among the dead, officials said.

The explosion in the industrial area of Ghislenghien, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Brussels, happened after construction workers pierced the underground line, The Associated Press quoted acting provincial governor Guy Petit as telling Belgian media.

Local officials initially said 15 people were killed, as did Belgian news media, and the Belgian Health Ministry originally reported 14 dead.

But later Friday Health Ministry spokesman Michele Vanderplaetsen said the government could confirm only 10 deaths, AP reported.

Interior Minister Patrick Dewael said several of the dead were firefighters who were setting up a security perimeter after the leak was reported.

The regional civil protection agency gave a provisional figure of at least 100 wounded, while the Health Ministry said 200 were wounded, including 100 burn victims. The reason for the discrepancies among the casualty reports was unclear.

The explosion sent huge fireballs into the air, flung bodies hundreds of yards, burned two factories and left a large crater between them.

One witness described it as a "mini-Hiroshima."

"There were bodies in parking lots, in the fields; burned-out cars in an area half a kilometer wide," Reuters quoted fire department spokesman Francis Boileau as saying.

"It looks like a war zone. ... There were people fleeing who I am sure we will find too late in the fields several hundred yards away."

French and Belgian emergency teams, including Belgian army units and dozens of ambulances, converged on the scene. Victims with severe burns were taken by helicopter to hospitals across Belgium.

Area residents were told to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors closed to keep out heavy smoke, but the Health Ministry said the smoke was not toxic.

Police closed a stretch of the E429 motorway, which links Brussels to Lille and Calais, France, but no evacuation was ordered.

Aftermath of the explosion at Ghislenghien, Belgium
The blast shook the ground like an earthquake and could be seen and felt several kilometers (miles) away, witnesses told Belgian media.

Eyewitness Olivier Rampelberg, who lives about 3 km (2 miles) from the scene, said he heard a sound like a thunderclap.

"It sounded like continuous thunder," Reuters quoted him as telling RTBF television. "Then little grains of scorched earth rained down."

Another witness told a radio reporter: "It sounded as if a plane had crashed. All the windows shook. It was terrible, terrible," Reuters said.

The line, one meter (yard) in diameter, carries gas from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to northern France. Fluxys, which runs the country's network of gas pipelines, confirmed the gas leak led to the explosion.

The company said its employees were not among the injured, and that disruptions to the region's gas supply were minor.

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt returned from his holiday in Italy to visit the disaster site, his office said.

It was the deadliest disaster in Belgium since 14 people were killed in a motorway pile-up in thick fog in 1996, Reuters said.

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The explosion in the industrial area of Ghislenghien, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Brussels, happened after construction workers pierced the underground line, The Associated Press quoted acting provincial governor Guy Petit as telling Belgian media.
THAT IS NOT TRUE!
A gas leak was found because the pipeline burst, probably because work around the pipeline. Fire department and special team was sent to the leak, and were blown up while investigating and trying to repair.
The Belgian Air force have used several helicopters to transport victims to hospitals specialised in fire wounds. all over Belgium (I saw one today over Antwerp)
These are the headlines in the VRT news:

Premier Verhofstadt kondigt nationale rouw af
Ook koning Albert komt zaterdag vroeger naar huis.

Vijftien doden bij gasontploffing in Ghislenghien
Meer dan honderd mensen liepen verwondingen op.

Ontploffing heeft gevolgen voor tal van bedrijven
Een nieuwe fabrieksvestiging is helemaal verwoest.

"Zulke hoge vlammen, het was net de Apocalyps"
De ooggetuigen en hulpverleners reageren geschokt.

Fluxys: "Oorzaak van explosie nog niet duidelijk"
Vanochtend is een lek in een gasleiding vastgesteld.

Paus en staatshoofden sturen een rouwtelegram
Reacties op ramp vanuit het buitenland stromen toe.

Sorry too tired to translate

http://vrtnieuws.telenet-media.be/nieuwsnet_master/default/nieuws/overzicht/040730_Gellingen_explosie/N_040730_Gasexplosie_Vuurzee-20040730-123107.jpg
http://vrtnieuws.telenet-media.be/nieuwsnet_master/default/nieuws/overzicht/040730_explosie_oorzaak/N_040730_gasexplosie_17u_1_B.jpg

Fluxys, the company that controlls the pipeline has not confirmed the real cause of the accident. That's why the media isn't publishing true stuff.
Ten people are found dead. The other five people were... Well... Probably destroyed by the explosion.

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People, I had a look at the videos that have been published online.
The cause is unknown There are no probably causes, It is not known. The only thing we know is that the fire began at a leak, but we don't know how and why the gas ignited.
Belgium's prime minister Guy Verhofstadt arrived a few hours ago from Toscane.
Patrick Dewael (national cases) was the first to be at the location this morning. Rudy Demotte (people health) returned from his holiday in Bulgaria as well.
http://vrtnieuws.telenet-media.be/nieuwsnet_master/default/nieuws/overzicht/040730_explosie_oorzaak/N_040730_Gasexplosie_VanAchterHek_META-20040730-144609.jpg
Dutch speakers, go here: www.vrtnieuws.net

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Imagine you have to get out of your car and have to run for the heat. A few people were burned inside their cars.
A flame of half a kilometer high burned for half an hour. An eyewhitness that has a company in the neighbourhood says it felth like an earthquake. It was hallucinating.
It is still very hard for firefighters and ambulances to operate in the area, as roads are covered with debris, and the heat at the location is still very high.

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It was a true disaster indeed. But try to be a bit more discrete Jeanske. I know you - like most of the Belgians today - were shocked, but don't CNN'ise this. How bad this may seem, don't forget this happens once every 50 years in our country, and not daily like in Sudan. It is a tragedy though, and a national mourning is appropriate now.

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I only take CNN rticles because I don't want to translate the more accurate articles from VRT. I know CNN isn't actual and accurate.
But, I think the media is exagerating. I mean, hundreds died yesterday in Irak, hundreds daily in Sudan, and today hundreds died in Asuncion, Paraguay. But still yesterday the first headline was the gas explosion in Ghislenghien.

Latest updates: 16 killed, 4 missing (probably burned and lost). Bodies had to be identified by DNA.
A probably cause: construction work at a road nearby the crater caused the leak. Not confirmed!
Yesterday a pipeline of 11 meter long weighing 1 ton was found 200 meters from the crater. The army transported it somewhere unknown for investigation.