Gas leak with a coincidental spark from start of an electrical appliance has been ascertained as the cause behind the gas cylinder explosion at a restaurant in Beijing Friday morning, local work safety authorities said Sunday.

Sixteen people were injured in the explosion around 9 a.m. Friday, including three restaurant employees and 13 passers-by. Most of them were slightly injured. The three employees, whose wounds were relatively serious but not life threatening, were rushed to hospital. The other 13 injured are also receiving medical treatment at hospital.

According to witnesses, the restaurant in Xinjiekou in Xicheng District of central Beijing collapsed after the blast.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2009)