No fewer than 12 people have been killed and 39 seriously injured after a gas line explosion tore through a residential neighbourhood in central China.
Responders to the early yesterday morning blast in the city of Shiyan in Hubei province sent more than 150 people to the hospital, according to officials quoted by state media.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
Stall keepers and customers buying breakfast and fresh vegetables at a food market were the majority of victims when the explosion hit shortly after 6am, according to the reports.
This morning, a deadly gas explosion ripped through a residential area in the central Chinese city of Shiyan.
The blast struck a two-storey building built in the early 1990s, which includes pharmacies, restaurants and other businesses. More than 900 people were evacuated from the area.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a thorough probe into the cause of the blast in order to create a “good atmosphere” for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party on July 1
