‘No double standard’ for victims

Officials in Henan Province provided a list on Monday of the 10 victims in an expressway blast and said they will be compensated according to law, after the media accused the local government of applying different compensation standards.

The compensation will be based on a legal interpretation on personal injury cases from the Supreme People's Court, said an announcement from the city government of Sanmenxia, Henan. The 10 victims on the list were of eight men and two women, who are from Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu provinces.

The accident took place on Friday morning, when a truck loaded with nine tons of fireworks, en route from Pucheng, Shaanxi Province to Hebei Province, exploded on the Lianyungang-Khorgas expressway causing an 80-meter-long section of the south bridge to collapse.

The northern section, which was rocked by the explosion, has been reinforced and was opened to mid and small-sized vehicles Monday afternoon as drivers were ordered to reduced speeds, said officials.

Ren Zhanzhou, a media spokesperson with the city government told the Global Times Monday that a victim's household registration will not be a factor in determining their compensation package.

"We don't have a double standard. All the injured and those who died in the blast will be treated equally," he added.

Earlier reports said that a victim's family was told that people with household registration from rural areas would receive less compensation than those registered in cities.

The rescue command center has informed the families of the 10 victims that they could claim their relative's remains.

Four people from the fireworks producer and the haulage company that owned the truck have been detained by police, according to Xinhua.

While the investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing, search and rescue work at the accident scene had concluded, said the announcement on Monday.

Heavy vehicles are being diverted to other highways and a firefighter on-site told the Global Times it will likely take two months to repair the viaduct and restore normal traffic flow.

Victims were sent to four hospitals in Mianchi and Yima counties.

Wu Bin, who suffered serious head and internal injuries and several fractures, remains in a coma, Liang Hui, assistant to director with the General Hospital of Yimei Group in Yima, told the Global Times.

"There was heavy fog that I didn't know I was driving along a bridge," said Xiao Zhimin, a 52-year-old survivor, told the Global Times."I heard a big bang and something hit my car from above very hard. I felt like the ground was sinking. The next thing I remember is crawling out of the twisted car under the fallen bridge and crying for help," Xiao said.