The Chinese military accidentally tear gassed a town during drills, and the local government was forced to apologize

pulse

August 21, 2018 4:56 PM

The local government of a Chinese city in the northwestern part of the country was forced to apologize Friday after the military accidentally tear gassed the town, according to Chinese media.

The local government in Baishan, Jilin Province was forced to apologize after the Chinese military accidentally tear gassed the town during annual military drills, Chinese media reports.
As the affected city is located near the China-North Korea border, the incident sparked fears and rumors among local residents.

The local government for a Chinese city in the northwestern part of the country was forced to apologize Friday after the military accidentally tear gassed the town, according to Chinese media.

In an apology statement issued online, the government of Baishan, a town in Jilin Province, revealed that a sudden change in the wind during an annual military training exercise resulted in tear gas from the outskirts of the city being blown into the downtown area, according to the Global Times, a state-affiliated media outlet.

Local residents reportedly poured into Baishan hospitals.

Given its proximity to North Korea, the incident sparked fears that North Korea had fired tear gas into Chinese territory. Other observers suspected that the Chinese military was training to handle a flood of North Korean refugees.

Chinese military experts have largely dismissed these claims. It is unclear exactly what happened, and it is possible this information will never be made public.

Serious concerns over the possibility of a chemical, biological, or nuclear catastrophe have long lingered over Jilin and Liaoning provinces, both of which border North Korea.

Last December, the Jilin Daily published "common sense" guidelines for surviving a nuclear war.