- A gas explosion occurred at a restaurant in northern China, leaving two people dead and twenty-six injured.
- It was believed that a gas leak at a fried chicken restaurant was the source of the explosion.
- According to the local Langfang fire department, 154 people and 36 rescue vehicles had been sent out.
State media reported that during rush hour, a gas explosion occurred at a restaurant in northern China, leaving two people dead and twenty-six injured. The explosion happened near Sanhe, Hebei province, fewer than 50 kilometers east of Bejing’s downtown, shortly before eight in the morning.
It was believed that a gas leak at a fried chicken restaurant was the source of the explosion. There was a “great big bang” and clouds of black smoke visible outside the blast site, according to a vendor at a nearby market.
A massive blast
State media released footage of the massive explosion online, which sent flames and smoke plumes across a major thoroughfare. A completely collapsed structure, many wrecked automobiles, and rubble scattered across the street were all visible in another social media video that AFP was able to confirm. The explosion destroyed the storefronts across from it, as seen in footage uploaded to the Douyin video-sharing platform.
Rescuers raced to the scene; according to the local Langfang fire department, 154 people and 36 rescue vehicles had been sent out. A nearby store employee informed the state-run Jimu News that she heard a blast and saw a structure on fire while she was at her business. “The entire building was practically destroyed,” she continued.
Lax safety rules and inadequate enforcement make explosives and other catastrophic mishaps common in China. In a residential building fire in Nanjing last month, at least fifteen persons lost their lives and forty-four were injured.
Numerous people lost their lives in a fire that occurred in January at a business located in the central city of Xinyu. According to state news agency Xinhua, the fire was started by workers in the company’s basement who were using fire “illegally.”
A fire at a coal company headquarters in the northern Shanxi province in November of last year claimed 26 lives and sent scores more to the hospital. Following the June explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the nation’s northwest, which claimed 31 lives, formal commitments were made to launch a national campaign to increase workplace safety.
