On the morning of February 24, a taxi in Qingdao City, Shandong Province suddenly exploded while waiting at a red light, sparking a large fire. The news quickly made its way to the top searches on Baidu on February 25.
According to dashcam footage shared online by passing vehicles, a green taxi was waiting at the intersection when suddenly the trunk popped open and flames appeared. The trunk door flew off, glass shattered, and debris scattered around the vehicle. The driver quickly opened the door and got out to inspect, appearing visibly shaken. It seems that the car’s airbags had already deployed.
Subsequent videos showed the car engulfed in flames. The explosion occurred at 8:38 a.m. as seen in the circulated online footage.
Videos shared by passersby in the area depicted the taxi completely destroyed by the fire, reduced to a frame and eventually towed away.
According to reports from The Paper on February 24, the driver managed to escape in time, and there were no casualties.
An eyewitness and nearby shop owner, Mr. Liu, interviewed by The First Eye TV-Hualong Net, described that after the fire broke out, the driver asked nearby car owners for a fire extinguisher. Mr. Liu returned with two fire extinguishers from his store to help extinguish the fire. However, within about a minute, the fire got out of control, engulfing the entire vehicle. The windshield shattered, and glass shards were scattered around, but fortunately, the driver had evacuated and appeared uninjured.
This incident has sparked discussions among netizens. Some expressed shock, saying they had only heard of cars catching fire, never expecting an explosion like this.
One driver who was passing by revealed that he was on the right lane of the taxi and felt a significant impact that affected him in the driver’s seat, causing his head to hit the seat back.
A netizen named “水了就跑” said, “It’s really scary when the gas tank explodes, fortunately, there were no passengers in the back!”
Some netizens speculated that from the online videos, it was clear that this was not a new energy vehicle (electric car) as it had a blue license plate. It is believed to be a gas-fueled car converted from a gasoline vehicle since burning gas is more cost-effective compared to burning oil, a modification often done by many taxis.
Another analysis from netizens suggested that there might have been a gas leak from the valve of the steel tank in the trunk or a leak in the pipeline, leading to a buildup of explosive gas concentration in the car, causing an ignition that resulted in the explosion in the trunk. Some also considered the possibility of the driver smoking inside the car.
However, some netizens argued that judging from the extent of the damage to the trunk, it might not have been a direct explosion of the steel tank. If the steel tank had exploded directly, the trunk wouldn’t have remained intact.