Burst water pipes takes heat away from 150,000

A burst water pipe resulted in a chilly night for some 150,000 people in Jiuquan city, Gansu province, on Monday night, and there will be more to follow with authorities saying it will take about another 10 days to fix.

The burst pipe flooded the street with hot water and caused a part of the road to collapse, creating a sinkhole.

Police have arranged a temporary cordon and traffic restrictions to the area while the heating company carries out repairs.

The burst comes as a result of the first big drop in temperature for Jiuquan. On Sunday evening the mercury fell to -13 C as the city was sprinkled with its first snow of winter.

Over the coming week, from Nov 21-28, the temperature is expected to again dip to as low as -13 C, which has the potential to bring further disturbances in some areas.

“The weather is very cold, life will be very difficult for elderly and children without heating,” said a local resident.

In response to the accident, Jiuquan's Suzhou district government held an emergency meeting to arrange for and to handle any emergencies.

Edited by Owen Fishwick