Looking back at the mysterious wave surface, more than 100 people died

On April 28, 1995, a gas explosion occurred deep under a crowded street in Taegu, South Korea, killing more than 100 people and injuring 181. Most victims are students who are on their way to school.

The ground rises, causing more than 100 deaths.

Taegu is a city of 2.2 million people, 240km southeast of Seoul. According to Yonhap TV, at the time of the explosion, an underground railway system was being built under the streets. Metal plates are used to cover deep holes at some points in the city during construction.

At about 7:30 am, right at rush hour, a loud explosion shook the ground, tossing metal plates into the sky. The fire went up from the ground, reaching 45m high throughout an area up to 274m long. There were 30 cars, including buses, turned into fireballs and blown up to 10m. Some pedestrians in the area were also swallowed by fire, others were shot in the sky.

Many houses are near the intersection, where the explosion occurred, destroyed. The debris caused by the explosion shot away from the whole kilometer. Television images show that cars are broken and distorted like paper cups, while soldiers try to lift the overturned buses to save people in distress below.

Many houses are near the intersection, where the explosion occurred, destroyed.

People on the road cried and hugged each other as rescue forces put many unconscious victims, who were full of blood from the subway construction area. Rescue efforts are affected by broken water pipes that flood the area.

The final number of casualties reached 110, most of them students from a nearby school.

The exact cause of the explosion is still a mystery. The gas supply company said it suspected that during the excavation process to build the underground railway system, a gas pipe was punctured. Meanwhile, the Korean national radio reported that the explosion seemed to come from nearby welding, and gas from a leaked pipeline caught fire, causing a big explosion.