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

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a disused factory chimney is blown to smithereens in the blink of an eye using a tonne of explosives by engineers.

Footage filmed in the town of Qingshan in Chongyang County in Central China’s Hubei Province shows the brick factory chimney being torn down at precisely 5:40pm local time on 8th April.

Officials evacuated residents living within 100 metres (328 feet) of the 63-metre (206-foot) chimney before setting off 1 tonne of dynamite which had been strapped throughout the brick structure.

Picture Credits: AsiaWire

In the video, a countdown is followed by a loud blast, with the chimney exploding into countless bricks and collapsing to the ground.

The disused chimney belonged to the town’s brick kiln, which was built more than three decades ago in 1985.

However, at the turn of the century, the Chinese government moved to ban the production of traditional red brick in coal-fired kilns in a bid to reduce smog and save farmland mined for clay.

Production at the plant began winding down between June 2002 and July 2003.

Qingshan Town official Peng Yao said: “There were also concerns surrounding the structural integrity of the chimney, which locals believed might collapse due to its being unmaintained.”

Peng said the remainder of the kiln would be removed and nearby residents relocated, after which the land will be redeveloped.