Gas cylinders, especially those in China, have a habit of exploding. And when they are transported illegally with little regard for safety, the potential for danger is ever greater. Just as well a shonky operation selling cylinders out the back of a truck has been foiled.
It’s called a “mianbao che” (面包车), a bread van or a baker’s van. But in Nanjing recently, one such little truck wasn’t transporting loaves; instead it had been repurposed as a mobile filling station for taxis powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
On 26 February, the Yangtze Evening News reported that law enforcement in Nanjing’s Jiangbei New Area received a tip off from the Area’s fuel management office regarding the suspicious activities of the bread van.
Traced to the intersection of Puliu Bei Lu and the Ningluo Expressway, officers arrived on the scene on 24 February at just the right time. With the van parked at the side of the road, the boot of a nearby, yellow taxi was open and a LPG tank therein discernible.
The taxi driver confirmed to the police that the bread van was indeed a makeshift filling station for LPG-powered taxis.
Asking the van driver to produce his documents showing he was licensed to carry dangerous goods was met with the answer, “I don’t have them”.
Further questioned by the officers, the van driver admitted that he used social media to join groups of taxis drivers in order to offer them the services of his mobile filling station.
Defined as dangerous goods, LPG can only be transported in China by holding the necessary licences and under strict conditions of carriage. Failure to obtain the correct qualifications is punishable by a fine of up to ¥100,000.
After all, one little spark in that bread truck could have led to an accident with unimaginable consequences.
