Xiamen bus fire

24.49°N 118.16°E / 24.49; 118.16

Xiamen bus fire
A Xiamen BRT bus traveling on an elevated road
LocationXiamen, Fujian
Date7 June 2013 (2013-06-07)
6:22 p.m. CST (UTC+08:00)
TargetXiamen BRT bus passengers
Attack type
Arson, mass murder, murder-suicide
WeaponsGasoline
Deaths47 (including the perpetrator)
Injured34
PerpetratorChen Shuizong (deceased)

On 7 June 2013, a mass murder-suicide attack occurred on a bus in Xiamen, Fujian province, China. A bus operating for the Xiamen BRT caught fire and exploded on an elevated lane near the Jinshan stop; 47 people died and 34 were injured.[1][2][3]

Fire

Preliminary investigations conducted by the traffic police indicate that at around 6:22 p.m. CST, a Xiamen BRT bus, license plate 闽D-Y7396, carrying 90 passengers,[4] caught fire on an elevated roadway between the Caitang (Chinese: 蔡塘; pinyin: Càitáng) and Jinshan (Chinese: 金山; pinyin: Jīnshān) bus stops.[5] The fire broke out in the rear end of the bus and once it had spread to the fuel tank, the bus exploded. The fire was extinguished at around 6:50 pm CST (10:50 UTC), twenty minutes after the bus caught fire during the evening rush hour.[1][6] Following the fire, the entire BRT system was temporarily shut down, reopening the following day.[1]

Despite the bus running on diesel, investigators found traces of gasoline in the fire. This, and the fact that the oil tank and tires were intact in the wreckage, led investigators to believe the fire may have been deliberately lit.[2] The Ministry of Public Security stated that the fire is being treated as "a serious criminal case".[1][2]

Suspect

On 8 June, police identified the suspect as a man named Chen Shuizong (simplified Chinese: 陈水总; traditional Chinese: 陳水總; pinyin: Chén Shuǐzǒng), a local resident born on 1 March 1954.[7] According to a suicide note found in his home, Chen was unhappy with his life and had decided to light the fire to vent his anger.[8][9] Family members, speaking to reporters and posting in social media, indicated that Chen was quite angry with police officials who refused to correct an error in his identity documents regarding his age and was thus denied social security benefits.[9]

See also

References
  1. "China bus fire probed as 'criminal case'". BBC News. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  2. "China bus fire kills 47". The Guardian. Associated Press. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  3. "Report: At least 42 killed in southeast China bus fire". CNN. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  4. Dasgupta, Saibal (9 June 2013). "'Suicidal' man caused China bus fire killing 47". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  5. "厦门BRT蔡塘-金山段发生火灾事故" [Fire event on Xiamen BRT at Caitang-Jinshan section] (in Chinese). 厦门网 [Xiamen Net]. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. "At least 20 dead and over 30 injured after BRT bus explosion in Xiamen". What's on Xiamen. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  7. 揭秘陈水总发微博：用一整天打草稿 再用电脑逐字敲, Xinhua (13 June 2013)
  8. Tang, Didi (8 June 2013). "China IDs suspect, says he set bus fire in anger". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  9. Wang, Fei (17 June 2013). "China's Newest Unlikely Martyr: Xiamen's Bus Arsonist". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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