One killed, several injured at restaurant explosion in China's Hebei province (updated)

Weibo

13/03/2024 03:29

(Adds death, injured and detail)
       BEIJING, March 13 (Reuters) - 
    One person was killed and 22 injured when an explosion
destroyed a restaurant in Hebei province in China, badly
damaging cars and leaving debris scattered on surrounding
streets, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday. 
    The blast occurred about 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Wednesday in
Sanhe, a county about 80 km (50 miles) from the capital,
Beijing, state broadcaster CCTV News reported. 
    The injured were sent to a hospital, according to CCTV. The
explosion occurred at a fried chicken restaurant in Yanjiao,
Sanhe, and is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, it
reported. 
    Earlier, the Langfang Fire Rescue Detachment said in a
statement that an explosion and fire had occurred in a street
shop near the intersection of Xueyuan Street and Yingbin Road in
Xiaozhanggezhuang village.
    The department said it dispatched 36 vehicles and 154 people
to the scene, adding that the fire was under control and that
rescue work was being carried out.     
    The blast happened just after the end of high-level
government political meetings in Beijing.     
    Videos on social media platform Weibo showed a large orange
fireball above the site, followed by thick plumes of grey smoke.
The video clips showed destroyed building facades, numerous
mangled cars, and glass littering surrounding streets. Some
objects were on fire. 
    One Weibo post wrote that several people said the explosion
occurred near the Cultural Building in Yanjiao.
    Several people said that construction on Metro Line 22 was
taking place near the explosion, according to the social media
account of The Economic Observer, an independent, weekly Chinese
newspaper.
    The Sanhe City Emergency Management Bureau sent an
investigation team to the scene, and the Langfang City Emergency
Management Bureau said the fire department was also at the
explosion site, according to social media posts. 

 (Reporting by Beijing and Shanghai newsrooms; Writing by
Bernard Orr; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle)
 ((bernard.orr@thomsonreuters.com))