Armoured truck blaze destroys 600,000 yuan saved minutes earlier by Chinese security staff
Security staff taking 900,000 yuan to a bank in Guangxi province throw 11 cash boxes out of burning vehicle into a bush - only for flames to set fire to bush - and then the money
PUBLISHED : Friday, 17 April, 2015, 4:07pm
UPDATED : Friday, 17 April, 2015, 5:19pm
Stephen Chen [email protected]
Some of the money that was destroyed in the armoured truck blaze. Photo: SCMP Pictures
More than 600,000 yuan (HK$760,000) in cash literally went up in smoke after a fire started in an armoured truck delivering money to a bank, China News Services reports.
Although staff initially rescued all 11 cash boxes from the back of the vehicle, flames from the engine set fire to a nearby bush where the boxes had been thrown – and they also burst into flames.
The fire started in the truck in Qinzhou city, in Guangxi province, on Wednesday as it was heading for a local bank after collecting more than 900,000 yuan from seven highway toll stations, two petrol stations and a grocery store.
The driver quickly pulled over after spotting smoke and flames coming from the engine.
Firemen spent more than an hour battling the truck fire before bringing it under control. Photo: SCMP Pictures
He and four security staff in the truck threw the cash boxes outside before the fire engulfed the vehicle, Guigang Golden Shield Security and Transportation Company said.
Unfortunately, in their haste, the five men threw the cash boxes into a bush and after the vehicle’s fire extinguisher failed to work, the flames set fire to the bush, along with the cash boxes.
The company said it had retrieved 300,000 yuan of partially burned notes, while the additional loss of more than 600,000 yuan in the fire would be covered by insurance.
The loss of the money in the fire sparked heated discussion on mainland social media.
The transport company said staff error was partly to blame for the loss of the money, because “in their ignorance” the security staff on the truck had dumped the boxes in a bush, which had then caught fire.
However, some internet users suggested the fire might have been started deliberately by the security company staff after they stole the money.
They said money transported on armoured vehicles was normally placed inside thick metal containers, which could not easily catch fire.
However, the transportation company denied this.
It said the cash containers had been made of flammable plastic, and that a police investigation had shown no evidence of any crime at the scene.
The driver had quickly pulled over and staff had acted quickly to save the cash boxes from the fire, it said.
Unfortunately the truck’s fire extinguisher had been too old and no longer in working order, so the flames had been able to engulf the vehicle – and then spread to the bush.
News reports said it took firemen more than an hour to put out the fire, by which time it had burned down a number of trees beside the road.
