Week Five: Tianjin explosion

Chinese authorities ended the search for the remaining eight missing in a massive chemical warehouse explosion last month, setting the final death toll at 173 in China’s worst industrial disaster in years.
The announcement by the Tianjin city government said there was no hope of finding the eight people and the court would start issuing death certificates.

“After thorough investigations by all parties it is certain that there is no possibility of survivors,” said a statement on Friday night.

The eight include five firefighters, underscoring the explosion’s status as the worst disaster for Chinese first responders, more than 100 of whom were killed, including police officers. Among firefighters a total of 104 were killed.

Investigations into the 12 August blasts at the Ruihai International Logistics warehouses showed they were located closer to homes than permitted, and stored much more hazardous material than authorised, including 700 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide.

A series of massive explosions late at night shattered windows and tore facades off buildings for miles around, while launching debris including heavy steel storage canisters into nearby communities with the force of an artillery shell. Homeowners have held protests demanding the government buy back their apartments, saying they are unliveable.

The disaster has raised questions about corruption and government efficiency, potentially tarnishing the government led by Xi Jinping, who has made those two issues a hallmark of his administration.

Authorities are investigating malfeasance in the issuing of permits and regulation of the company, and have detained 12 of its employees and executives. They include the primary owner, who was on the board of a state-owned company and kept his ownership of Ruihai hidden as a silent partner.

Also detained as part of the investigation are 11 government officials, while the head of the government body in charge of industrial safety, Yang Dongliang, has been placed under investigation for corruption.

Yang had previously worked for 18 years in Tianjin in state industry and local government, rising to executive vice mayor.

Authorities say they have sealed all waterways leading out of the blast zone to curb cyanide contamination as teams in hazmat suits clean up hazardous debris.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/tianjin-explosion-china-sets-final-death-toll-at-173-ending-search-for-survivors

Stucture of the Lead:

Who: people who live in Tianjin

When: August in 2015

What: A serious explosion happened in Tianjin

Why: people stored much more hazardous material

Where: Tianjin

How: it cause a serious disaster in Tianjin  

Keyword:

blasts (爆炸)

tore facades(摧毀外牆)

tarnishing(汙衊)

malfeasance(壞事)

detained(被拘留)

sealed (封口)

 curb (抑制)

 hazmat(危險品)

Week Four: Yangtze River, shipwreck, (tragedy, disaster, sink)

Jianli, China (CNN)The Eastern Star is upright once again, looking almost normal with its bottom resting on the water and its deck and cabins clear above it.

The ship's positioning Friday was a step forward in the dayslong nightmare playing out on a section of the Yangtze River that flows through Hubei province. It means answers should be easier to come by as to why the Eastern Star capsized Monday night and what can be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

It also means closure could be coming soon to hundreds of families.

At least 396 bodies had been recovered by Saturday, according to Chinese state media. There are 46 people still unaccounted for.

Of the 456 people on board, 14 survived. But rescuers have had no luck since Tuesday, when a 21-year-old sailor and 65-year-old woman were plucked from the water.

The chances of more miracles have dwindled with each passing day. And the salvage process has begun.

Scores of ships, thousands of soldiers involved

That process involved huge floating cranes that set up alongside the overturned river cruise ship, dropped cables and hooks into the water, rolled the ship upright and raised it to the surface. About 50 divers took part overnight Thursday by tying slings around the 2,200-ton vessel, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

State-run CCTV News tweeted pictures of the Eastern Star after this happened Friday. Parts of its top level looked smashed, but the other levels appeared largely intact. By draining the ship, the idea is that it could again float on its own.

Meanwhile, rescuers continue their work. After going through the submerged, capsized ship for three days, they'll now theoretically be able to walk its decks and open spaces.

The idea is to go cabin by cabin, looking for people who may have, by chance, survived in a cranny inside -- and for the many who most certainly did not. It's all part of a huge operation involving nearly 150 other ships, 59 machines, over 3,400 Chinese troops and 1,700 paramilitary personnel, Xinhua said.

In addition to the human toll, there's an environmental toll from oil leaked into the Yangtze River, Transport Ministry spokesman Xu Chengguang said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/05/asia/china-yangtze-river-ship-sinking/

Stucture of the Lead:

Who: people on the  The Eastern Star

When: this year 

What: Many people died in the accident

Why: There is broken bottom under the ship

Where: Yangtze River in China

How: it cause not only human toll but environmental toll 

Keyword:

capsized (翻船)

dwindled (縮小)

salvage (搶救)

cranes (起重機)

Meanwhile (與此同時)

submerged (淹沒的)

theoretically (理論上地)

.cranny (裂縫)