Too many explosions have rocked China's mines this year. A gas blast at a natural gas field in Chongqing left us with a heavy heart again.

Killing 191 people, sending more than 600 to hospitals and leaving an area of 25 square kilometres as a death zone, the blowout on Tuesday night was the saddest story of the year throughout the country.

The scale of the fatalities may be larger when more searches for survivors take place.

Unlike the mine accidents which always expose mine owners' ignorance of safety rules, some experts seemed to absolve the gas company from the responsibilities for the gas explosion.

According to these experts, unpredictable pressure conditions under earth leave accidents possible when a new well is drilled.

Their explanation makes sense because we cannot control pressure under the earth.

However, this does not necessarily mean that everything is flawless.

When the cause of the blowout is under investigation, many things have already provided food for thought.

The death toll of the incident jumped in a short period of time.

The remote mountainous place where the accident happened is densely populated. This made it difficult to evacuate local people.

The local hospitals have a poor capability to deal with a large number of patients from accidents like the gas blowout. As a result, some victims died when waiting for medical treatment.

It is unrealistic to have the rural hospitals improved overnight. However, the blowout once again rang a loud alarm for the poor medical conditions in China's rural areas.

Still, ignorant of the know-how about protecting themselves against the gas poisoning and chemical burns, the local people could do nothing but get hurt.

When a big project like drilling natural gas, the local government, if not the gas company, is responsible for informing the local people of the basics about protecting themselves against gas poisoning.

We cannot predict what will happen under the earth. What we can do for sure is to set up a first-aid system for emergencies like this.

The settlement of the 41,000 people who were forced to flee the dangerous zone should be done appropriately to help them live safe and sound in the middle of the winter.

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