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Attacker Invades Hubei Elementary School Killing 3 On 1st Day of Class [UPDATED]

Posted: 09/1/2014 3:42 pm

hubei school stabbings [This post contains graphic images that may be upsetting to some readers.]

It is an ominous start to the new school year.

A man charged into an elementary school in Hubei Province on the first day of classes today and attacked students and faculty with a knife, killing three children and leaving six others injured, including a teacher, reports CCTV.

The assailant used a knife to attack a total of nine people. In addition to the three fatalities, six people have been injured. Five of the injured are students, and one is a teacher named Liu Hongqing.

Two of the students are in serious condition. The victims have been moved to hospital for medical treatment.

The attack happened at 10:40 this morning at the Yanxi County East Elementary School. Following the attacks, the suspect, identified as Chen, committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the school building.

A parent named Li Zhiguo said her ten year-old daughter was attending her fifth grade class when she was attacked. Li’s daughter sat in the desk in the second last row next to the window. The assailant didn’t even enter the class to attack his victims, but used his knife to slash through the window, injuring Li’s daughter’s face.

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UPDATED 4:51pm September 1: According to a preliminary investigation, the discovered why Chen used a knife to kills and injure so many schoolchildren is because his own daughter was not allowed to enroll for class today because she had not completed her assignments from summer holiday, reports the Foshan Daily.

Chen is now said to have specifically come to the fifth grade class of the school to attack its students and teacher with a fruit knife.

Photos: Weibo (2), CCTV

Haohao

30 Years Worth of Garbage in Massive 9-Story Pile May Finally Be Dealt With

Posted: 08/11/2014 6:40 pm

shijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollutionChina has enjoyed a tumultuous 30 years of progress, but with a stronger economy comes the by-product of a growing consumer society: a lot of garbage.

In Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hubei Province, the Baifo Village committee has finally decided to do something about the mountain of garbage located at Huanghe Avenue and Zhufeng Boulevard. The mountain of garbage is 30 meters high and is the result of garbage accumulated over 30 years. It’s about the same height as an eight or nine story building.

shijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollution

While there is now interest in finally dealing with the mound of garbage, it won’t come cheap. The government of Chang’an District and the Tangu sub-district office have calculated the cost of completely removing the garbage at RMB 30 million.

One would think nobody would want to live anywhere near this presumably stinky pile of garbage, but no protests have been reported so far. That’s in stark contrast to Guangdong, where garbage dumps have seen increasing opposition from residents.

Environmental issues have become the leading cause of social unrest in China, replacing land disputes, Bloomberg has reported. And it’s a problem that is only increasing in scope: every year as China creates more than 360 million tons of waste annually, an amount that grows by 8% each year, reported China Dialogue.

shijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollutionshijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollutionshijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollutionshijiazhuang garbage pile hubei pollution

Related:

Photos: China News

Haohao

Elementary School Attacker in Hubei Shot Dead by Police [UPDATE]

Posted: 06/10/2014 3:22 pm

hubei school kidnapping A person who had taken a hostage at a Hubei elementary school has been shot dead by police, reports China Daily.

According to the Chutian Metropolis Report, a person forcibly entered the campus of the No. 3 elementary school in Haokou County, City of Qianjiang, Hubei Province this morning and took a teacher hostage.

The suspect was reportedly shot four times. The teacher is said to have not sustained any injuries. A search of the suspect revealed he or she was in possession of knives, gasoline, and explosive devices.

CCTV reports the attacker may have left explosives behind in the school.

Students and staff have been evacuated as police continue their search of the campus.

UPDATE 7:01pm May 6: The suspect who attempted to take a classroom of elementary school students hostage at the No. 3 elementary school has been identified as 57 year-old Zhang X.

Zhang was having a dispute with the Xuqiao Village committee member Mr Xu over the compensation from land requisition and new residence provided in this exchange. Mr Xu’s grandson attends this elementary school and is a member of the class that was taken hostage, reports Yangcheng Evening Report.

Zhang had reportedly come to the classroom of 50 schoolchildren carrying an explosive device that he intended to set off. The class teacher and a deputy secretary are said to have volunteered to act as hostages in exchange for the students’ freedom.

When negotiations broke down, Zhang had supposedly poured gasoline on the hostage and was shot dead by police, reports CCTV.

Zhang is a retired soldier who is described as having been sent to a prison camp.

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Photos: Southern Metropolis Daily via Weibo

 

Haohao

Bumbling in the cockpit almost results in a China Southern airline crash in Wuhan

Posted: 03/8/2013 9:00 am

If you are scared of flying already, you might want to skip this story. It turns out a China Southern Airlines captain put his passengers in danger after a series of missteps narrowly avoided a crash a couple of weeks ago in Wuhan.

The plane ended up striking objects on the ground outside Wuhan Airport, damaging the underbelly and forcing the plane into an emergency landing at Hefei Airport.

The botched landing attempt of the Boeing 737-800, which holds 164 passengers, took place on February 25. Rumours of the incident circulated on Weibo, but have only now been confirmed by China’s aviation regulator.

The results of a preliminary investigation by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) revealed the captain of the Guangzhou-Wuhan flight disengaged the auto-pilot at 1,000 feet as the plane was descending. This led to the following sequence of events on-board flight CZ 3367:

- At 430 feet, both pilots were unable to spot the runaway approach lights. The first officer called for a ‘go-around’, meaning another landing attempt, but the instruction was ignored. The night-time landing was also hampered by the weather. The foggy conditions meant visibility was between 1,200 metres and 1,500 metres.

- Upon checking outside, the first officer discovered the plane was low, which triggered a “too-low” alarm in the cockpit.

- The co-pilot once again called for a ‘go-around’, which got no response. It took another “too-low” warning for action to be taken.

- As the plane accelerated upwards, the aircraft struck objects on the ground – scraping antenna beacons – forcing the aircraft to burn excess fuel as it headed to Hefei Airport in neighbouring Anhui province.

- The China Southern Airlines flight landed safely at Hefei Airport some 200 nautical miles away.

Simon Hradecky of the Aviation Herald has more on the damage done:

The CAAC reported that the aircraft sustained damage (penetrations and dents) to the left main gear door and left main gear proximity cover actuator, the left main gear outboard tyre received cuts.

The antennas of the southern NDB (non-directional beacon) “D” and inner marker were damaged, two other antenna pillars were damaged as well.

The CAAC annotated that the approach was continued below MDA (minimum decent altitude) without necessary visual reference putting the aircraft below the approach profile, in addition the crew did not initiate the go-around after the first ground proximity alert.

For an airline decorated with the Five-Star Flight Safety Award by the CAAC in 2008, this was an avoidable incident.

Haohao
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