Beijing college expels department head after lab blast

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The head of the civil engineering department at Beijing Jiaotong University has been removed from his post after three students died in an explosion at a chemistry laboratory on campus, the university announced on Saturday.

The supervisor of the three students was also suspended from conducting any scientific research, the statement added.

The explosion occurred on Wednesday when three students were conducting an experiment on the purification of landfill leachate.

Students left bouquets outside the building to mourn the students who died in the fatal accident. /VCG Photo

Previous reports said before the fatal accident happened, students had noticed large quantities of inflammable and explosive materials in the laboratory.

A social media user who claimed to be a relative of one of the victims said in an online post that 40 bags of cement, 30 barrels of magnesium powder, 28 bags of sodium phosphate, and six barrels of phosphoric acid were inside the lab.

Several barrels of magnesium powder were reportedly inside the laboratory when the explosion happened. /Photo via Weibo

The university said its staffers have been visiting the families of the victims to comfort them and promised to deal with the incident seriously.

Psychological counseling services were offered to teachers and students who experienced the terrified incident.

Inflammable and explosive materials were said to be inside the lab when the fatal blast took place. /Photo via Weibo

The university will carry out a thorough safety inspection to eliminate any potential hazards and prevent the same incident from happening again.

The administration has yet to respond to overwhelming questions on social media about what triggered the blast, saying that an investigation into the cause of the explosion is still underway.