ALBAWABA - A massive suspected gas explosion at a restaurant in northern China killed two people and injured 26 others on Wednesday, according to official media, causing extensive damage to the structure.
State media footage posted online showed a massive explosion that released plumes of smoke and fire across a busy road. At 1:30 p.m., CCTV reported that two people had died and 26 were injured. The fire has been extinguished, the statement continued.
According to official media, the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak at a fried chicken store. The explosive blast destroyed two large buildings, according to footage released by CCTV, and rescue crews were seen taking away a car injured by the explosion.
According to footage published by the video-sharing site Douyin, the bomb knocked off shop facades on the opposite side. The uploader told AFP that the explosion occurred 200 meters from her home.
Another social media video authenticated by AFP showed what appeared to be a completely fallen structure, as well as multiple damaged automobiles and debris strewn over the roadway. The local Langfang fire department said that 36 emergency vehicles and 154 workers were deployed to the location.
A residential building in the eastern city of Nanjing caught fire last month, killing at least 15 people and injuring 44 others, AFP reported.
In January, several died when a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, according to state news agency Xinhua. The blaze was caused by workers in the store's basement using fire in an "illegal" manner.
That incident occurred just days after a late-evening fire at a school in central Henan province killed 13 students while they slept in a dormitory.
