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<\/div>\nGas Explosion in China Restaurant: Explosion took place at a restaurant in Yinchuan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
At least 31 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a restaurant in the northwestern Chinese city of Yinchuan, state media said Thursday.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Seven more people were receiving medical treatment, the agency said, with one of them in a “critical condition”.<\/p>\n
Two others had suffered severe burns, two had minor injuries and two had scratches caused by flying glass, Xinhua said.<\/p>\n
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 restaurant’s facade.<\/p>\n
Shards of glass and other debris littered the darkened street, which is also home to a number of other eateries and entertainment venues.<\/p>\n
The explosion at about 8:40 pm (1240 GMT) on Wednesday took place at the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant in a residential area of downtown Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia autonomous region.<\/p>\n
It occurred on the eve of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, when many in China go out and socialise with friends.<\/p>\n
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”, CCTV reported Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Emergency Management said local fire and rescue services dispatched more than 100 people and 20 vehicles to the scene in the wake of the blast.<\/p>\n
Local authorities “immediately… demanded that all-out search and rescue efforts be organised, the wounded be properly treated and casualties be reduced as much as possible”, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
The rescue efforts had concluded by 4:00 am on Thursday, it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n