Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment a heated bed suddenly explodes behind a woman as she watches TV with her son in their bedroom.
The freak accident happened on 13th October but was shared online by homeowner Ms Gao this week.
The native of Tangshan City in North China’s Hebei Province is seen staring at the television when smoke suddenly rises from her bed.
It is quickly followed by an explosion of fire which shoots flames and smoke in her direction as she springs from her seat.
The terrified mum grabs her son and shouts for her husband in the next room, and they escaped unharmed.
The bed is known as a ‘kang’ bed-stove, traditionally used in China’s northern regions where winters are particularly harsh.
Kangs were made from brick or fired clay but are now also constructed out of concrete.
They are heated by burning coal or firewood in a central cavity, or by fuel burned in a stove or furnace in an adjoining room.
Ms Gao said her family’s kang is heated using dry walnut.
She told local media: “I wanted to keep myself warm on the kang, but it was too cold, so I sat on the chair watching TV.
“I asked my husband to fire up the furnace to heat it up.
“I was still watching TV when I heard a noise. I turned around and saw the fire.
“We filled [the furnace] with dry walnut from last year. They produce oil.
“But the walnuts have cavities inside, so there was likely a build-up of biogas in them, causing the explosion.
“A hole was torn in the kang, but my husband mended it, and now it’s fine.”
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