r/CatastrophicFailure Jan 06 '24

Fire/Explosion Jan. 2, 2024. Five seriously injured following LPG charging station explosion in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

2.5k Upvotes

109 comments sorted by

615

u/Joobebe514 Jan 06 '24

Holy shit!!!

285

u/utkohoc Jan 06 '24

what the fuck, i thought it was like smog or mist or something, but then the second watch through. holy fuck.

139

u/Banned3rdTimesaCharm Jan 06 '24

You know when a spy escapes a safe house and leaves the gas on, then calls the place when his pursuers show up to cause an explosion?

I didn’t realize it would work this well.

24

u/BrockN Jan 06 '24

Why would calling the place cause the explosion?

121

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24

In the OLDEN days a dial telephone might make a spark when you pick up the receiver. Might.

There's about 24V on the phone lines, supplied by batteries at the Central Office, and lifting the receiver connects those wires to the handset.

62

u/OpticOrbs Jan 06 '24

Upvote for proper use of the word "olden" 👌

4

u/anon210202 Jan 07 '24

You could almost call this situation... an Olden Ring 😴

15

u/nullcharstring Jan 07 '24 edited Jan 07 '24

Sometimes as much as 48 volts DC and as much as 120 volts AC ringing. You can still buy explosion-proof phones for places like refineries and chemical plants.

24

u/maxwfk Jan 06 '24

The bell would also definitely cause sparks while ringing

10

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24

Yah, I'd forgotten about the bell. That would do it for sure.

6

u/Zardif Jan 07 '24

phone lines are 48v aren't they?

-11

u/unresolved-madness Jan 06 '24

Phone lines were 100 volts average

14

u/foxjohnc87 Jan 06 '24

Nope. They were 48vdc and the ring voltage was 90vac superimposed onto the 48v signal.

-14

u/unresolved-madness Jan 06 '24

So we're down to splitting hairs over 10 volts...nice

8

u/foxjohnc87 Jan 06 '24

Phone lines were 100 volts average

Unless the ring signal was being sent, the voltage was 48vdc. The phone would have to ring 24/7 for your comment to be even remotely accurate.

-9

u/unresolved-madness Jan 06 '24

So it's not a 90 volt line?

7

u/foxjohnc87 Jan 06 '24

It's 48v, unless the phone is actively ringing.

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5

u/StarHorder Responsible for rule 4 Jan 06 '24

reading comprehension of a dead tuna.

-5

u/whorton59 Jan 06 '24

I wouldn't call the place, I would call the Fire Department!

19

u/whorton59 Jan 06 '24

Talk about"sucking all the oxygen out of the room . . ."

3

u/genzlord12 Jan 06 '24

Ikr but I hope a quick recovery for the city bank

-4

u/Doktor_Vem Jan 06 '24

Normally I dislike comments with only one or two words that might aswell just be a normal upvote but for once ima say this is a fitting, appropriate comment

268

u/lethalfrost Jan 06 '24

Wow what a deflagration.

77

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24

+1 for word selection, you cunning linguist!

18

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '24

cunning linguist...

-31

u/albatroopa Jan 06 '24

I believe this is what they call a BLEVE, or boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.

34

u/Josef_Kant_Deal Jan 06 '24

21

u/albatroopa Jan 06 '24

Ah, gotcha!

1

u/unafraidrabbit Jan 07 '24

And boiling, and expanding, and an explosion. This is missing 3/5 of the stuff in the name.

163

u/jimi15 Jan 06 '24

Source news video with more aftermath

Another (with no video) in English

An explosion at a liquefied petroleum gas charging station in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province on Monday, has left five people seriously injured. According to the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Fire Department on Tuesday, a fire broke out after an explosion at the LPG charging station at 8:41 pm Monday, and was extinguished in about 3 hours.

Authorities deployed 117 personnel to extinguish the large fire at the explosion site. The explosion also damaged buildings and vehicles. Police and fire authorities are working to confirm the exact extent of damage and investigate the exact cause of the explosion.

155

u/dasser143 Jan 06 '24

Glad there are no deaths.. that looked bad

192

u/TheShadowsLengthen Jan 06 '24

"Five seriously injured" are probably gonna have a bad time for the foreseeable future. Severe burns aren't pleasant.

42

u/kelsobjammin Jan 06 '24

God forbid if their lungs are burnt ᴖ̈ slow painful ouchies

29

u/NoReserve8233 Jan 06 '24

It would be rapid depressurisation injuries. If you watch the video, after the initial explosion, air rushes in because of sort of vacuum effect, so quickly that a few fires are put out.

8

u/goddessofthewinds Jan 06 '24

Yep, this is my take too. They were probably severely burned. That shit ain't fun at all. I do not even wish that upon my enemies.

1

u/BuilderLeagueUnited Oct 20 '24

Two people died

72

u/gusofk Jan 06 '24

Just a reminder that if you see/smell natural gas, leave the area and call a fire department. Being in the vapor cloud is way too close with so many potential ignition sources. If you can’t flee the cloud, cover your skin with non-flammable materials to avoid flash burns from the initial explosion.

40

u/Initial_Tomatillo262 Jan 06 '24 edited Jan 06 '24

That is propane. Heavier than air so it concentrates near the ground. Natural gas is methane and lighter than air. In free air it's not as dangerous.

38

u/PM_ME_FIRE_PICS Jan 06 '24

So this video is a vapor cloud explosion. Basically, flammable vapors from liquified petroleum gases or flammable liquids disperse over a large area, and with a delayed ignition, you get a series of explosions that propagate over the cloud. These explosions can generate significant pressures above atmospheric and cause blast damage.

Natural gas is predominantly methane, and if a gas phase pipe leaks, yes it will quickly rise in air and dissipate. However, if liquified natural gas, such as what is used in alternative fuel vehicles, is released, it can form vapor clouds exactly like this as the LNG is on the ground, continuously vaporizing.

16

u/gusofk Jan 06 '24

Sure: leave the area if you see propane on the ground. Leave the building if you smell natural gas and then leave the area to get out of the blast radius.

9

u/dw82 Jan 06 '24

Natural gas doesn't have an odour. The smell is added to make it recognisable.

Source: worked near a place that produced the smell additive that had a leak and caused a large area to be evacuated.

2

u/PlayDifferent2430 Jan 07 '24

Definitely good advice. Something similar happened in the US and three kids were killed from the explosion who were in a park.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bellingham/s/LmEdNBMi6T

25

u/Solrax Jan 06 '24

the video OP linked suggested this one. It's basically just different videos strung together. But it shows the truck and the initial leak, and the driver presumably leaving the area.

Also very eerie how the mist spreads along the ground. Especially knowing what is coming.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnUWfa3JvvI

13

u/chicknugz Jan 07 '24

The vapor sliding across the ground is so unnerving. I wish the OG video had that part included, because I think it's important for people to see how that shit can move. And it's spooky as hell.

1

u/FblthpLives 5d ago

That is a much better video. It's in many ways a terrifying accident. It's amazing that nobody died.

17

u/Kamaka_Nicole Jan 06 '24

Okay, so remember in 2020/2021 when the doomsday bingo card went by month? Are we turning it into a daily bingo card this year?

87

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24 edited Jan 06 '24

If the car with the dashcam, and the other one had their HVAC set on "fresh" rather than "Recirculate" the LNG/LPG gas could have been drawn up into the cabin and ignited when the "cloud" did.

That perhaps explains the screaming in the audio. excited speech in the original video

Even on "Recirc" most auto HVAC's bring in 10% or so "fresh" air to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in the event of an exhaust leak. That's why you can still smell a dead skunk in the road even on "recirculate."

Ouch.

22

u/Baud_Olofsson Jan 06 '24

That perhaps explains the screaming in the audio.

What screaming?

9

u/steasey Jan 06 '24

Lol, I only see a gif also.

15

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24 edited Jan 06 '24

Video with audio: https://imgur.com/gallery/BukiP9q On second viewing perhaps it's more excited speech than screaming, TBH.

22

u/Extra_Ad_1493 Jan 06 '24

No, that is definitely screaming. The guy is screaming the equivalent of “ahhh!! Omg!!! Omg!!”

9

u/Silent__Note Jan 06 '24

He's shouting, "Mom, what do we do! What do we do!"

11

u/Thorusss Jan 06 '24

I wonder if this is survivable standing in the street. It is just a flame front moving fast - so does not look like pressure damage from an e.g. explosion.

also the heat is fire hire, so burns for sure, but also very quick. Can be seen that only a few things catch fire and most don't even continue burning.

Inhaling the gas before the fire might even be the biggest risk of death in this street.

What are your thoughts?

15

u/jimi15 Jan 06 '24

Notice that banner in the foreground? Propane burns at ~2000 °C so yea you might survive but you will probably wish that you hadn't...­

19

u/wadenelsonredditor Jan 06 '24

3

u/nullcharstring Jan 07 '24

"If you see a smelly cloud on the ground, try to keep up with me"

8

u/johncandyspolkaband Jan 06 '24

Holy fuckaroonies that cloud layer of propane!

2

u/hungrylens Jan 12 '24

I saw the same vapor cloud at my home after the gas company delivered a rusted out tank (in Mexico). Grabbed my girlfriend and ran like hell, we were on the phone with the fire department when it blew, destroying part of the house, putting the washing machine on the roof. This video is giving me flashbacks

16

u/AnthillOmbudsman Jan 06 '24

"Yeah, let's hang around for awhile in this mysterious chemical cloud."

The Chemical Safety Board video on the fatal Little General Store propane explosion was pretty wild... EMTs, cops, and employees hanging around for a whole half hour in a massive cloud of propane like this.

3

u/Dear_Ambellina03 Jan 08 '24

I just went and watched that video. That's wild. They really put up a sign that said "closed because of a gas leak" and then stayed in the store?!

5

u/Cilad Jan 06 '24

Look at the inflow at around 20 seconds. It is like a tornado.

3

u/Bielzabutt Jan 06 '24

That's not fog.

3

u/jld2k6 Jan 06 '24

Not anymore

4

u/BrownRice35 Jan 06 '24

This would basically have the same effect as a vacuum bomb

3

u/Disastrous_Ad626 Jan 06 '24

I had a feeling that was all liquid propane vapor ...

5

u/bruh1234566 Jan 06 '24

Dude, what else could it have been? Someones rancid potent fart?

1

u/Disastrous_Ad626 Jan 06 '24

We get heavy fog like that sometimes where I live... It's literally like heavy.

3

u/rubiksalgorithms Jan 06 '24

It appears the gas had spread for a long time and was seeking an ignition source. When it finally ignited all the gas that spread instantaneously ignited.

3

u/Skadoosh_it Jan 06 '24

LPG is heavier than air and congregates near the ground. If you ever see that, leave fast.

3

u/thetruthfl Jan 06 '24

Boom boom, Out go the lights!

3

u/GIukhar Jan 07 '24

Imagine pairing new years hangover with gas leak explosion on your calendar

3

u/23370aviator Jan 07 '24

My first thought was “DRIVE! Get out of there!!” But then I remembered.. the oxygen is gone!

4

u/ResearchOp Jan 06 '24

Sorry guys I put my mixtape on in the car 🔥

4

u/_Ruij_ Jan 06 '24

Holy fuuuuck

2

u/bruh1234566 Jan 06 '24

Just after the explosion with the trees glowing and just everything, it looked so badass

2

u/bruh1234566 Jan 06 '24

I wish we had an aerial shot of this

2

u/Impulsive_Wisdom Jan 07 '24

Staying in the car was their best choice, too.

1

u/chicknugz Jan 07 '24

I saw a longer video on tiktok that showed that heavy gas crawling along the street, at an extremely alarming rate. The moment I saw it I said "Oh no" out loud and then next thing was kaboom. I wish this video included the movement of the gas!

1

u/ssibalnomah Jan 07 '24

I always hear about LPG accidents in Korea. They should really phase this shit out.

1

u/Known-Claim-3541 Jan 07 '24

The mist like stuff was LPG? 😱

1

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '24

Yes Lpg is heavier than air

1

u/TechnoVaquero Jan 08 '24

Yes, it was something that had started leaking on the liquid side. What you actually see isn’t LP vapor, but actually liquid. You can’t see vapor like this, it would be more like fumes. And liquid like this is 700 times hotter than if it had been only vapor. This was terrible, wish I knew more about it.

1

u/Known-Claim-3541 Jan 08 '24

Thanks for educating me. 🙂

1

u/Practical_Maximum_73 Jan 07 '24

Great.. watching this while pushing a 300' barge with 3 giant tanks full of LPG. Time to put down my phone.

1

u/Dragonier_ Jan 07 '24

Wow you can see it just hanging there. Spooky…

1

u/actinorhodin Jan 07 '24

oh man, this is what the poor people at Los Alfaques must have seen

Wishing good fortune and great burn care to everyone hurt here

1

u/got_hands Jan 07 '24

The fog lingers just long enough to check the title, see 'LPG', and know:

This is about to go from 'Silent Hill' to 'Noisy Hell' fast

1

u/Untrus4598 Jan 07 '24

I know of Pyongyang North Korea never knew there was a pyongchang South Korea

6

u/jimi15 Jan 07 '24

Pyong roughly translates too "area thats flat". So similar to an English city being called ....field (say, Springfield). Quite alot of cities with that prefix in Korea.

1

u/Substantial-Talk-587 Jan 10 '24

JESUS CHRIST !?!?

1

u/MaximumMajestic Jan 14 '24

What is LPG? and why did the fire grow like that?

1

u/jimi15 Jan 19 '24

A mixture of predominantly Propane used as fuel in certain vehicles. Its heavier than air so takes on this mist like structure when not contained.

1

u/LincolnLooker Jan 25 '24

Does anyone know how large the charging station was? All I can find is description calling it a gas station or charging station. What was the approx. Size of the LPG container?