Chapter 2407 Heavy Casualties

The command center has been set up, and all the main leaders of Pingnan County except the county party secretary and the county governor have arrived at the scene. Two deputy mayors and many heads of relevant departments have come from the municipal government.

According to Qin Feng's arrangement, each leader was assigned a task by Qin Feng and also signed a military order in front of Qin Feng.

The city leaders arrived, the city’s rescue forces gradually moved in, and the work on the scene began to proceed in an orderly manner.

Seeing that the rescue work was finally on track, Qin Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief. After instructing Chen Guohua to immediately ask all parties to report the accurate number of casualties so far, Qin Feng sat in the chair of the command center and called Jiang Longjun's office.

Many people from the Municipal Party Committee also came, so Jiang Longjun naturally knew the situation at the scene. However, no matter how clear Jiang Longjun was, Qin Feng still had to report the situation at the scene to Jiang Longjun.

"Secretary Jiang, I'm Qin Feng."

"Mayor Qin, what is the current situation at the scene?" Jiang Longjun asked hurriedly.

"The roads in and out have been completely cleared. Not only the small path that was previously open, but also the main road next to it that was previously blocked has been cleared. Now the rescue forces from the city have all been put into the rescue work at the scene."

"The on-site command center has been set up, the on-site command system has also been basically established, and all work is being carried out in an orderly manner." Qin Feng reported.

"Okay, okay... Mayor Qin, what's wrong with your voice? I heard that your throat is hoarse." Jiang Longjun asked with concern.

"The situation ahead is very chaotic and complicated. The scene is in a mess. I can only shout at the top of my lungs. It's okay. It's a small problem."

"Secretary Jiang, all the people living near the explosion site have been evacuated. According to preliminary assessment by experts, the possibility of a second explosion at the chemical plant is low. The overall structure of the building that partially collapsed due to the impact of the explosion is stable, and the probability of collapse is low." Qin Feng continued to report. Qin Feng had already asked someone to report this conclusion to the general command headquarters.

"That's good, but we still have to prepare for the worst. A low probability doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"Yes, so we evacuated all personnel within the area that might be affected by a second explosion according to the experts' calculations, and set up a cordon. Except for professional rescue personnel, no one is allowed to approach."

"Has the fire at the chemical plant been brought under control? What are the casualties? Have the trapped people been rescued?" Jiang Longjun continued to ask.

"The fire at the chemical plant is being put out, and rescue work is being carried out intensively. The specific casualties cannot be accurately recorded yet, but there will be feedback soon. The number reported to me so far is two deaths and thirteen injuries."

"Secretary Jiang, the rescue has just begun, and the number will definitely continue to rise." Qin Feng lit a cigarette with a very heavy tone.

Jiang Longjun was silent after hearing this. After a long while, he said solemnly, "Mayor Qin, you are at the scene and you know the situation better. What do you think the death toll will be?"

"The dead and injured found so far are all from collapsed houses affected by the shock wave of the explosion. Although the rescue work here is still ongoing, there may be more injured, but not many, and the death toll will not increase."

"The real big problem is inside the chemical plant. The fire in the chemical plant has not been put out yet, and rescue work has not officially started. According to the chemical plant staff, there were a total of 20 to 30 workers and managers in the chemical plant when the incident happened."

"It was very chaotic after the incident. It is impossible to count how many people have escaped and how many are still inside."

"Based on the circumstances of the explosion, anyone who has not escaped has little hope of survival, and the possibility of escape is not very high either."

"So Secretary Jiang, we may have to be mentally prepared that the final death toll will be quite serious." Qin Feng said as he puffed on his cigarette.

Jiang Longjun was silent again, and after a long while he asked again: "Mayor Qin, do you think we should report this to the provincial government? And when should we report this to the provincial government?"

"Secretary Jiang, this matter is too big to be concealed. Now that the rescue work is on track, we should report it to the province. Otherwise, no one can bear the responsibility." Qin Feng understood Jiang Longjun's feelings very well. In fact, Qin Feng's mood was similar to Jiang Longjun's. With such a big incident, neither Jiang Longjun nor Qin Feng could escape responsibility.

"Yes, how can we hide such a big thing? We must report it, and we must report it immediately. But Mayor Qin, we have to postpone the time of reporting the explosion. What do you think?" Jiang Longjun said with hidden meaning.

Qin Feng took a few more puffs of his cigarette. He understood what Jiang Longjun meant and nodded, "Okay, I'll follow Secretary Jiang's arrangements."

"Thank you for your hard work. If you hadn't run to the scene and commanded the situation in person, who knows how chaotic the situation would have been and how many more people would have died." Jiang Longjun sighed.

"Secretary Jiang, the rescue is still ongoing. Now is not the time to talk about this. We still have to do our best to rescue and save as many people as possible. In addition, we must ensure the life security of the evacuated people." Qin Feng said.

"That's for sure. If you have any requests, just tell the headquarters directly. I will provide you with logistical support and coordination work in the back."

"Mayor Qin, I have another question. Is there any possibility of...slightly adjusting the death toll?" Jiang Longjun was still unwilling to give in.

"Secretary Jiang, this is too risky. There are too many people involved and too many people on the scene. It's hard to have a unified voice on this matter. If we can't do it, it may become a serious political problem." Qin Feng reminded Jiang Longjun.

"Oh... I understand. Then let's do as you ask. Report truthfully and get punished if necessary. You are a bunch of trash from Pingnan County." Jiang Longjun cursed at last.

……

The fire in the chemical plant was completely extinguished after three hours, and the rescue work inside the exploded chemical plant was completely completed that evening. The final death toll reached 14 people, and the number of injured reached more than 50. This was a very serious production safety accident.

After informing the provincial government, the government was furious and ordered Shazhou City to do its best to carry out rescue work. At the same time, it sent a deputy governor to the scene to guide the rescue work.

In fact, before the deputy governor arrived at the sandbar, Qin Feng had already directed and completed all the rescue work on the spot.

After the rescue work was completed, Qin Feng did not leave the command center. After all, there were so many people living in tents in the open space waiting for further resettlement and aftermath, and there were too many things to deal with on the scene.

Qin Feng understood that accident investigation and responsibility determination were also carried out simultaneously with the post-accident work.