100ft Pillars As Ice Blasted Into Air With Explosives

Story By: Buli Liang, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment huge streams of ice on a frozen river are sent nearly 100 feet into the air after the authorities set off explosions under the icy surface.

The startling scenes were filmed at the frozen Amur River in Huma County, in the Greater Khingan Range in northeastern China.

In the video, someone can be heard counting down from 3 to 1 when the explosives are detonated.

Picture Credits: AsiaWire

Huge streams of ice, reportedly 30 metres (98 feet) high are sent flying into the sky at the same time.

The local Water Conservancy Department rigged 2.7 kilometres of the frozen river with explosives and created holes for the blasts of ice to escape through.

The head of the Water Conservancy Department, Li Yansong, told local media that the explosions were carried out to lower the risk of flooding when the ice melts.

Yangsong said: “The temperature of the past winter was relatively high and there was less rain compared to last year. We estimated the ice on the Amur River will melt earlier.”

Blasting the ice into the air reportedly reduces the risk of flooding when the ice melts.

The Amur River is the world’s tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and northeastern China.