A recent shocking accident occurred when a China exploded in the hands of a smoker.  China, as I’m sure we all know is a brand of cigarette sold in China.  It’s a popular souvenir for tourists due partly to its Chinese flag red color and boldly written “China” (中華) on the package.

It’s also famous as a high end brand of tobacco, costing 50 yuan (US$7.80) per pack.  This may not seem like much to other countries peoples, but costs 10 times more than an average pack in China’s urban areas.  The victim, Mr. Wu, is currently recovering in hospital.

Mr. Wu is a 69 year-old who makes his living selling vegetables, much like he was doing on the day of the incident. Having a particularly tough time getting people to buy his bok choy, he decided to kick back with some other produce selling buddies and let off some steam with a smoke.

Mr. Wu pulled out a China and lit it.  He casually took his first deep inhale, and he began to feel his stress decrease.  Feeling more at ease he went in for his second drag. Then the unthinkable happened. The China completely exploded in his hand, mid-inhale, with a mighty bang.

Mr. Wu’s injures required four stiches.  However, it’s difficult to say the full extent of his injuries with some reports claiming his fingers were partially blown off.  In the image released to the press, his injured smoking fingers do appear shorter than the others. Witnesses around the hospital he was admitted to claimed that he was in a lot of pain.

So why did a luxury brand of cigarette referred to as “the nation’s smoke” suddenly explode?  Authorities are currently looking into the matter, and police are not ruling out the involvement of circus clowns or Bugs Bunny.

Source: Sina Video (Chinese)

▼A Pack of the brand that exploded on that fateful day.  I can’t read Chinese too well, but the warning label at the bottom doesn’t seem to mention “detonations.”

A multi-angle gallery of the pack can be found here: Yayune

▼The original Chinese news clip, in Chinese naturally.

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