BEIJING: At least 31 people were killed when an explosion caused by a gas leak ripped through a restaurant in the northwestern Chinese city of Yinchuan, state media said Thursday.
The blast occurred on the eve of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, when many in China go out and socialise with friends.
Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed more than a dozen firefighters working at the site as smoke poured out of a gaping hole in the restau-rant’s facade.
Shards of glass and other debris littered the darkened street, which is also home to a number of other eateries and entertainment venues.
Nine people including the restaurant’s “owner, shareholders and staff” were held by police following the explosion, CCTV said, adding that “their assets have been frozen”.
“A leak of liquefied petroleum gas… caused an explosion during the operation of a barbecue restaurant,” state news agency Xinhua said of the Wednesday evening blast, citing the regional Communist Party committee.
Seven more people were receiving medical treatment, the agency said, with one of them in a “critical condition”.
Two others suffered severe burns, two had minor injuries and two had scratches caused by flying glass, Xinhua said.
High school students and retirees were among the casualties, many of whom died due to suffocation likely caused by smoke inhalation, state-backed media outlet The Paper said, citing anonymous officials involved in the rescue effort.
The explosion at about 8:40pm (12:40pm GMT) on Wednesday took place at the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant in a residential area of downtown Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia autonomous region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping “demanded all-out efforts in treating the wounded and the strengthening of safety supervision and management in key industries and fields to effectively protect people’s lives and property”, Xinhua said Thursday.
Xi “urged efforts to ascertain the cause of the accident as soon as possible and hold the relevant people accountable in accordance with the law”, the agency said.
“All regions and related departments should screen for and rectify all types of risks and hidden dangers,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
The Ministry of Emergency Management said local fire and rescue services had dispatched more than 100 people and 20 vehicles to the scene in the wake of the blast.
Local authorities “immediately demanded that all-out search and rescue efforts be organised, the wounded be properly treated and casualties be re-duced as much as possible”, the ministry said. The rescue efforts had concluded by 4am on Thursday, it said. —Agencies
