9 dead, 34 hurt as Xi'an restaurant hit by blast
By Staff Reporters |
November 15, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Nine people were confirmed dead after an explosion in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, yesterday morning. The city government said 34 others were injured in the blast.
The incident occurred at around 7:30am at a fast food restaurant on the first floor of Jiatian International Mansion, a commercial building in the outer Gaoxin District.
An initial investigation suggests the blast could have been caused by a leak of liquefied petroleum gas, a city government spokesman said.
Most of the victims were passersby, including some children on their way to school, Xinhua news agency reported.
Gong Yejian, an 11-year-old primary school student who was injured on his face and hands, was passing by the building when the explosion rocked the neighborhood.
"The blast knocked me down with glass fragments hitting my body from head to toe. The tree near me fell down as well," Gong told Xinhua.
A witness said he saw dense smoke funneling up from the wrecked mansion's ground floor. "Many residents rushed out from the building, with heads and hands bleeding," he said, adding that the explosion also injured people who were driving by.
"I heard a blast, and then I saw two girls running out of the compound. Blood completely covered them," said a motorcycle-taxi driver surnamed Liu who was looking for passengers at the time of the blast.
"I just walked to the door and the blast took place. I was thrown out to the street," said Zhou Lin, a bakery store worker, told Xinhua.
He suffered external injuries and was in stable condition yesterday afternoon. He said when he finally recovered consciousness in the hospital, a doctor told him he had been spotted lying in the middle of the street by rescuers.
A firefighter at the scene said the explosion shattered windows in nearby buildings and destroyed a bus stop and dozens of cars parked nearby.
The explosion threw cars up to a dozen meters in the air and the blast could be felt up to two kilometers away.
Rescuers retrieved a woman's body from the debris yesterday afternoon, while the city's hospitals reported that eight victims had died.
Seven of the injured were in critical condition, the city's health bureau said.
The injured were being treated at the Gaoxin Hospital and the Provincial People's Hospital. A doctor at Gaoxin Hospital said many had suffered head and face wounds caused by flying glass.
The Provincial People's Hospital said a 27-year-old woman with multiple injuries from glass shards and stones could only breathe with the help of a respirator.
Fire control authorities cordoned off the area after the explosion.
Zhao Zhengyong, Shaanxi's governor, visited the injured in hospital and asked local authorities to overhaul safety loopholes citywide.
Pictures of the aftermath can be seen on Shanghai Daily's website at http://dly.sh/3u.
The incident occurred at around 7:30am at a fast food restaurant on the first floor of Jiatian International Mansion, a commercial building in the outer Gaoxin District.
An initial investigation suggests the blast could have been caused by a leak of liquefied petroleum gas, a city government spokesman said.
Most of the victims were passersby, including some children on their way to school, Xinhua news agency reported.
Gong Yejian, an 11-year-old primary school student who was injured on his face and hands, was passing by the building when the explosion rocked the neighborhood.
"The blast knocked me down with glass fragments hitting my body from head to toe. The tree near me fell down as well," Gong told Xinhua.
A witness said he saw dense smoke funneling up from the wrecked mansion's ground floor. "Many residents rushed out from the building, with heads and hands bleeding," he said, adding that the explosion also injured people who were driving by.
"I heard a blast, and then I saw two girls running out of the compound. Blood completely covered them," said a motorcycle-taxi driver surnamed Liu who was looking for passengers at the time of the blast.
"I just walked to the door and the blast took place. I was thrown out to the street," said Zhou Lin, a bakery store worker, told Xinhua.
He suffered external injuries and was in stable condition yesterday afternoon. He said when he finally recovered consciousness in the hospital, a doctor told him he had been spotted lying in the middle of the street by rescuers.
A firefighter at the scene said the explosion shattered windows in nearby buildings and destroyed a bus stop and dozens of cars parked nearby.
The explosion threw cars up to a dozen meters in the air and the blast could be felt up to two kilometers away.
Rescuers retrieved a woman's body from the debris yesterday afternoon, while the city's hospitals reported that eight victims had died.
Seven of the injured were in critical condition, the city's health bureau said.
The injured were being treated at the Gaoxin Hospital and the Provincial People's Hospital. A doctor at Gaoxin Hospital said many had suffered head and face wounds caused by flying glass.
The Provincial People's Hospital said a 27-year-old woman with multiple injuries from glass shards and stones could only breathe with the help of a respirator.
Fire control authorities cordoned off the area after the explosion.
Zhao Zhengyong, Shaanxi's governor, visited the injured in hospital and asked local authorities to overhaul safety loopholes citywide.
Pictures of the aftermath can be seen on Shanghai Daily's website at http://dly.sh/3u.
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