Man Burnt Alive By Jumping Into Furnace After Losing Over $9,000 On Stocks

Workers at Baogang Group reported one of their colleagues missing after their night shift on Wednesday, March 24. Nearly a week since his disappearance, the company released statements revealing the fate of the missing man.

Wang Long, the 34-year-old worker, reportedly took his own life by jumping into a blast furnace. Surveillance footage captured the last moments of the man’s life. Reports state that the man was in huge debt after losing money in the stock market, so it could be the reason behind his dire step.

A steelmaking factory in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, became the scene of a terrible death. After completing their night shift, workers reported that Long had been missing. With the involvement of the police, the surveillance videos from the facility were checked.

One of the cameras aimed at a steel melting furnace recorded the last moment of Long. The video was shared on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, the South China Morning Post revealed. The video was mentioned more than 45 million times on the platform.

It showed Long taking off his work helmet and gloves to place them on the ground. He is then seen pausing for several minutes before finally plunging into the vat of molten steel. Red flamed and billowing smoke can be seen as the steel pipe branch worker vanished without a trace into the molten metal.

On Tuesday, March 30, the Baogang Group released their official statement confirming the death of the worker. They said, “We feel deeply sorry for his death. We are proactively appeasing the emotions of his family and carrying out psychological guidance for our workers.” The Daily Mail reported that the company is the largest light rare-earth metals manufacturer in China and has been around since 1954. It is not known if Long’s family has received any compensation for his death from the company.

Based on the video and other factors, the investigators ruled out murder as the cause of death. They revealed that Long had lost 60,000 yuan ($9,136) on the stock market in a single day. This led him to incur massive debts. Unable to cope with the loss, the investigators believe that Long took the decision to end his life. The police concluded their investigation and noted the cause of death as suicide.