Thousands of electric bicycles were destroyed in a Dongguan factory fire on April 30 that saw flames shoot 10 metres into the air, reports the Nandu.

A plume of smoke estimated at 100 meters high by eyewitnesses could be seen for kilometers as the fire leveled the 1,500 square meter Euro-Afro-Sino Electric Bicycle Factory in the No. 6 Industrial Zone of Dalingshan County, Dongguan.

It took firefighters using ten emergency vehicles five hours to completely extinguish the fire, and it looks like they could have gotten it done sooner if their access wasn’t blocked by spectators recording videos like this one:

The cause of the fire is currently being investigated. There were no injuries, though the wife of the factory owner fainted upon seeing the destroyed bicycles.

In other unfortunate transportation news, commuters in nearby Shenzhen don’t just have to contend with unlicensed taxi cabs, but unlicensed gas stations as well.

A shanzhai gas station on Yueliangwan Avenue in Nanshan District has been selling gasoline illegally through the use of a gas tank plopped down behind the station.

Photo: Nandu, screencaps via Youku, Nandu