China's Guangxi Rocked by Series of Deadly Blasts on Eve of National Day

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Investigators check the site of a blast in Liuzhou, Guangxi, Sept. 30, 2015.



A series of "huge" explosions ripped through public buildings in the southwestern Chinese region of Guangxi on Wednesday, killing at least seven people, injuring more than 50, and destroying vehicles and buildings, local residents and state media said.

The explosions left confusion and chaos in their wake, as terrified local residents ran for cover, then posted photos of gutted buildings and plumes of smoke and dust in the wake of the blasts they said "shook the earth."

One resident of Guangxi's Dapu township said he was just a few hundred meters from one of the blasts, which collapsed buildings and sent plumes of smoke and debris towering into the sky, according to photos posted online.

"I just heard several explosions," the resident said. "They were really, really loud, and they shook the earth, even from 500, 600 meters away from where I was."

Local police said via social media that they are now investigating 13 reports of explosions, which ripped through public places including a jail, a supermarket, and an area close to a hospital.

Two people have been reported missing, as reports of more than 60 suspicious packages have continued to flood in, and rescue services have rushed to the scene, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

It said police have made an initial detention of a 33-year-old suspect surnamed Wei, but police and government officials told RFA that details are still sketchy amid an ongoing investigation.

'Terrifying'

"The explosions collapsed a building; it was terrifying," the Dapu resident said.

"There was also a report of an explosion at a bus stop near a police station. Buildings have collapsed in several places, and cars were turned right over by the blast," he said.

"There were cars and even trolley buses that were flung into the air; it's terrifying."

He said police have since sealed off the entire area affected by the blasts.

"The traffic cops have closed the road; I just took a few photos and they are stopping vehicles going that way," the resident said. "I am staying home; luckily I didn't go out today."

"Who would dare to venture out today, when its so dangerous to go to public places?"

A local resident surnamed Huang said she heard several explosions in the space of about one hour.

"I wasn't at the scene of the explosions, but the blasts shook my glass table, and shook the ground; it was a big shock wave," Huang said.

"The explosions started at about 4.00 p.m., and carried on until just after 5.00 p.m.," she said. "I thought they were dynamiting rocks in the hills."

Huang said she had counted "more than 10" separate explosions, adding that local news reports had said there were 13.

"They were at public transportation stops, shopping malls, and near the county government too," she said.

Chaos on the streets

A third Dapu resident described chaotic scenes on the township's streets.

"It's awful; everyone on the street is running and terrified, and there are police cars everywhere," the resident said.

"I felt so scared when I heard these ... huge noises," she added. "Apparently there were some bombs hidden in parcels, but I don't really know."

Officials who answered the phone at the Dapu township police department and county government propaganda bureau declined to comment in detail on Wednesday.

"Things aren't clear yet, and we don't yet know anything," a Dapu police department official said.

"I have no way to answer your questions right now. No comment," the official said.

An officer who answered the phone at the Liucheng county police department, which oversees Dapu, said: "We are in the process of investigating [the incidents] and all of our news is being coordinated as a single source by the propaganda department."

"We still don't know much, as investigations are still ongoing."

Liuzhou-based rights activist Li Jianghan said the authorities had yet to determine whether the blasts were the result of a terror attack or the result of personal grievance.

While Beijing has recently launched an "anti-terrorism" campaign after a string of violent incidents linked to the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, Li said that previous blasts in public places have also been the result of deep social tensions, personal grievances, and disgruntled petitioners.

"The fact that they chose the day before National Day to do this will cause a lot of debate and concern," Li said.

China's Guangxi Rocked by Series of Deadly Blasts on Eve of National Day

China's Guangxi Rocked by Another Blast After String of Parcel Bombs

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A Liucheng county neighborhood fills with smoke after an explosion, Guangxi, Oct. 1, 2015.


As authorities in the southwestern Chinese region of Guangxi scrambled on Thursday, China's National Day, to deal with the aftermath of 17 parcel-bomb explosions that went off the day before, a township in the area was rocked by an 18th blast, residents said.

There was a huge bang here that went off at 8.10 a.m.," an employee at a guesthouse 200 meters from the blast in Guangxi's Dapu township told RFA.

"We were lucky not to get injured when we went out to look; a lot of people got hurt yesterday," the employee said.

"Today's blast was in the Fuyuan residential compound, and it was pretty frightening."

Photos of the aftermath posted online showed a six-story building partially collapsed and surrounded by bricks, glass, and other debris.

Other photos showed overturned cars, victims bandaged and laid on makeshift stretchers, and plumes of grey smoke rising above buildings, but it was unclear whether the images were linked to Thursday's blast or earlier explosions.

Police quickly set up a security cordon around the new blast site. "When we went to look ... we couldn't get close," the guesthouse employee said.

"[It was] near building No. 5 of the compound, and exploded outwards from a balcony."

No comment from police

The blast came after 17 parcel bombs killed at least seven people and wounded scores more on Wednesday.

An officer who answered the phone at the police department in Liucheng county, of which Dapu is the county town, declined to comment.

"Sorry, but we are under orders not to give any media interviews," the officer said. "You will have to rely on official news sources for the details."

Police issued a statement on Wednesday that they had ruled out a "terrorist act" in the explosions and are treating them as the subject of a criminal investigation.

Wednesday's blasts, which came from bombs hidden in express packages, ripped through 13 different locations, including a prison, a government office, a train station, a hospital, and a shopping mall.

In addition to those killed, 51 people were injured, while two were still unaccounted for late on Wednesday, police said.

Police, who have arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the blasts, are warning the public not to accept packages from unverified sources, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

They say he may have worked with others to deliver the bombs.

'Illusion of stability'

Li Jianghan, a rights activist based in the Guangxi city of Liuzhou, hit out at the government's tight control over media reporting of the incident.

"I suspect that the government has moved so fast to arrest somebody just to maintain the illusion of calm and stability," Li said. "But in reality they are going to be creating instability."

"They should do the responsible thing and make the actual situation public, rather than just trying to calm public fears," he said.

While Beijing has recently launched an "anti-terrorism" campaign after a string of violent incidents linked to the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, previous blasts in public places have also been the result of deep social tensions, personal grievances, and disgruntled petitioners.

In April 2014, authorities in the northern city of Taiyuan executed a man after finding him guilty of setting off several deadly blasts near a provincial ruling Chinese Communist Party headquarters in November 2013 that killed at least one person.

And in October 2013, authorities in Beijing handed down a six-year jail term to a disabled man who set off an explosion at the city's international airport, sparking anger over what many said was an unjust sentence.

But several Chinese cities have been hit in recent years with explosions that the police have blamed on the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, including a 2013 jeep explosion and fire in Tiananmen Square that left two bystanders dead.

China's Guangxi Rocked by Another Blast After String of Parcel Bombs

China Blasts Suspect Identified

Authorities in China say the man suspected of being responsible for mail bomb blasts in the southwestern city of Liuzhou in Guangxi Province has been found dead at the site of one of the explosions, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

Local police said 33-year-old Wei Yinyong was behind the deadly explosions, which claimed 10 lives and caused more than 50 injuries.

Police had combed through findings from on-site investigations, interviews and surveillance footage, according to the state media report. DNA samples showed that Wei died in one of the explosions, the report added, without revealing where his body was found.

The initial police investigation results found that Wei, an employee at a nearby quarry, committed the crime to vent his anger with residents in the village or staff of relevant agencies because of a dispute over work, the report said. It did not provide details.

Wei was found to have delivered some of his mail bombs himself before setting them off, while hiring vendors to deliver his other parcels, the Xinhua report said.

China Blasts Suspect Identified