英语新闻丨Authorities handling blast site in Hebei apologize to media

Local authorities in Sanhe, Hebei province, apologized to the media for forcing them out of the site of an explosion on Wednesday that killed 7 and injured 27 others, according to a statement published on Thursday morning by the city's command headquarters for the handling of the incident.

3月14日上午，河北省三河市爆炸事故处置指挥部发布声明称，3月13日，当地发生爆炸事故，造成7人死亡、27人受伤，并就强迫央视记者离开事故现场向媒体致歉。

The statement especially mentioned that several reporters with China Media Group were forced out of the site during their interviews. "Due to the poor communication skills and the use of rough methods by our on-site personnel, misunderstandings and public questioning arose from their conducts, leading to adverse social effects," the statement said, adding "for which we feel deeply responsible and extend our apologies to journalists".

声明特别就央视记者在现场直播时，遭当地警方阻挠、驱离事件做出回应：“由于我方现场人员沟通能力差、手段粗鲁，引发误解和舆论质疑，造成不良社会影响，对此我们深感责任并予以追究。我们向记者诚挚致歉。”

On Wednesday night, a video clip showed two or three CMG reporters being pushed away during their interviews by a dozen of male personnel at the incident site.

3月13日晚，一段视频显示，两三名中央广播电视总台记者在采访过程中被事发现场的十几名男性人员推开。

Following the matter, the All-China Journalists Association published an article on its official WeChat account, voicing that journalists have the right to conduct interviews. The article went viral online on Wednesday night and got reposted by many netizens, especially by media workers.

事件发生后，中央记协在其官方微信公众号上发表文章，表示记者有采访的权利。这篇文章于昨晚在网上疯传，并被许多网友、尤其是媒体工作者转发。

"During the initial stages of the rescue, on-site personnel had maintained good interaction with media reporters," the official statement of Sanhe said.

三河市官方声明称，救援初期，现场人员与媒体记者保持良好互动。

But as the rescue work progressed, the experts with the command headquarters conducted professional assessments and discovered that there were still ongoing risks of natural gas leakage at the scene, advising that all non-rescue personnel be evacuated beyond the cordon to prevent secondary disasters. During this process, journalists who persisted in reporting from the scene were forcibly led out of the site, the statement added.

但随着救援工作的进展，指挥部专家经过专业评估，发现现场仍存在天然气泄漏风险，建议所有非救援人员撤离警戒线外，防止发生次生灾害。在此过程中，坚持现场报道的记者被强行带离现场。

"In our future work, we will learn from this experience, further improve relevant mechanisms and actively establish communication platforms with the media," the statement said. It added that local authorities will genuinely safeguard the rights of journalists to conduct interviews, provide more convenience, and respond promptly to social concerns. "We welcome media friends to supervise our work."

声明称，在今后的工作中，我们将吸取这次经验，进一步完善相关机制，积极与媒体建立沟通平台。各地将切实保障记者采访权利，提供更多便利，及时回应社会关切。欢迎媒体朋友监督我们的工作。

The explosion that drew media to Sanhe occurred at 7:54 am on Wednesday in the town of Yanjiao, suspected to be caused by a gas leak at a shop, according to another statement by the city's emergency management bureau on Thursday.

据三河市应急管理局于今日发布的另一份声明，3月13日上午7时54分，燕郊镇发生爆炸，引起媒体关注，疑似由商店煤气泄漏引起。

As of early morning on Thursday, the site had been basically cleaned up. All the injured were sent to hospital and their injuries were not life-threatening. Among them, 14 have been discharged. An investigation is underway about the cause of the explosion.

截至3月14日凌晨，现场已基本清理完毕。所有伤者均被送往医院，没有生命危险。其中14人已出院。目前正在对爆炸原因进行调查。

life-threatening

adj.危及生命的

the command headquarters

指挥部