Unreported Chemical Shipment Caused Explosions on Train, Railway Officials Say

Investigators have found traces of an unreported shipment of the unstable compound hydrogen peroxide in a freight train where two explosions occurred in southwestern China, railway sources told Caixin.

The accident highlights the ongoing problem of dishonest or inaccurate reporting in China’s shipping industry, as well as shipping companies’ lax enforcement of safety inspection procedures.

The blasts on Wednesday rocked the fifth car on an X318 train parked at a railway station in the Qianjiang district of Chongqing, causing minor injuries to station staff and passengers waiting on the platforms.

The National Railway Administration has sent a team headed by deputy bureau chief Liu Keqiang to investigate the cause of the explosions, but the investigators have yet to release their report.

Sources with the Chengdu railway bureau, which oversees the station in Qianjiang, told Caixin that evidence showed hydrogen peroxide was included in the shipment, and the compound is believed to have caused the explosions.

Hydrogen peroxide, a component in explosives and rocket fuel, and also used as a disinfectant, is highly unstable.

The sources also accused the shipper of “intentionally” hiding the actual content of the shipment by referring to its contents as “miscellaneous” when registering with the railway. The train’s fifth car contained automobile parts, cosmetics, pesticides and batteries.

The sources did not name the shipper, but said the shipment was handled by delivery company China Railway Express, which is owned by China Railway Corp. (CRC).

Sources close to CRC told Caixin that the company had notified the local railway bureaus shortly after the incident, urging them to put all goods handled by China Railway Express through safety screenings and even open their packages for inspection when necessary.

The notice ordered all shipping companies to report any hazardous items they find to the police.

According to the document seen by Caixin, CRC also said that the railway police will be conducting random inspections at China Railway Express outlets and will employ uncover tactics such as pretending to be clients to discover whether the company’s outlets are strictly following the safety inspection rules.

In 2015, an explosion killed at least 165 people at a port in Tianjin where officials had long been violating regulations for storing and handling hazardous chemicals. Investigators also found port officials had failed to file reports about hazardous materials with authorities.

Because the port did not keep proper records, firefighters could not figure out what chemicals were in the containers after the explosion.

Contact reporter Wu Gang (gangwu@caixin.com)