China: 1 killed, 33 injured in gas explosion at Shenyang city in Liaoning Province

A massive explosion that occurred at a restaurant in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province, had killed at least one person and wounded 33 others on Thursday morning, local authorities reported. As per CNN, the local authorities revealed in a statement that the gas explosion occurred in a mixed-use residential and business property. They further informed that all 33 injured people have been taken to hospitals for immediate treatment.  

The cause of the explosion in Shenyang city is still being investigated by officials which took place around 8:20 a.m. in the morning. As several video footage which has been surfaced on social media shows that the wreckage of the fatal explosion had ripped through the building. The videos also depict a rubble-strewn street and a collapsed structure.   

According to the local fire service, search and rescue operations are still underway, which involves 25 fire engines and 110 firemen dispatched to the scene as of late Thursday morning. 

Previous deadly blast in China

Earlier, in the month of September, a massive explosion and severe fire at an apartment building in northeastern China killed nearly eight people according to a state news agency. On September 11, the explosion and fire were triggered by leakage from a liquid gas cylinder. The Xinhua News Agency said that five people were injured in the incident in the seaside city of Dalian. 

Adding to it the last incident, another severe explosion struck a residential area in central China in the month of June. A gas line explosion killed at least 12 people and critically injured 39 others. As per officials reported by state-run media, rescuers to the early morning incident in Shiyan, Hubei province, had brought over 150 individuals to the hospital. 

According to official reports, most of the casualties were stall owners and customers purchasing meals as well as fresh vegetables at a food market when the explosion occurred soon after 6 a.m. The incident took place in a two-storey building that comprises a pharmacy, restaurants, and other businesses that were erected in the early 1990s. Over 900 individuals were forced to flee the region. Rescuers had climbed across shattered concrete slabs to reach people trapped within.  

(Image: Unsplash/ Representative Image/ Twitter @CounterDivision)