Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Asia Wire Report  

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a boy and his grandmother narrowly escape being hit by bricks as the pavement around them explodes after the child put a banger down a manhole full of methane.

The dramatic incident took place outside a hotel on Binjiang South Road in the city of Jianyang, which is in Sichuan Province in south-western China.

In the CCTV video, the young boy and his elderly female relative can be seen standing near one of the manholes where the boy reportedly drops a banger into the sewer on 18th January.

Seconds later, the pair begin running away as the first manhole erupts and the second sewer explodes shortly after.

The pavement explodes near the two family members, sending bricks flying into the air and scattering them across the ground, the video shows.

Video Credit: AsiaWire

Neither the boy nor his grandma were harmed during the incident, which is thought to be the result of biogas such as methane being ignited underground by the live banger.

City officials are still investigating, and it was not immediately clear at the time of writing whether the boy’s family would be ordered to pay for repairs done to public property.

A staff member at the hotel outside which the incident happened said the first manhole cover was found in the middle of the road nearby.

The second was blown several feet in the air before crashing back onto the ground, she said.

Video Credit: AsiaWire

Less than two weeks earlier, an eight-year-old boy from north-western China’s Gansu Province landed himself in intensive care after he dropped a banger into a sewer while standing over a manhole.

The metal cover exploded and launched him through the air before he crash-landed face first.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.