Five people were killed and more than 10 were injured after an explosion--possibly caused by leaking gas--in Huludao, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
Six people were seriously wounded and were taken to the Huludao Central Hospital.
Four of them said to remain critically ill. Neither the hospital nor police have made public their identities.
A police spokesman said the explosion, on Tuesday morning, happened in a private restaurant on the first floor of a three-storey building.
The blast was followed by a fire which was brought under control. The five dead included restaurant staff and passers-by.
Most of the injured were passers-by and guests in a private hotel on the second floor. The explosion destroyed the whole restaurant.
The spokesman said the accident was probably caused by a leaking gas canister on the first floor.Witnesses said they heard a loud blast and saw a large cloud of smoke when the blast occurred.
A witness said that one of the dead was cycling past when they were impaled by an iron stick, and died instantly.
Three cars in front of the building were badly damaged by the explosion, and glass in nearby buildings and buses, 50 meters away,was shattered.
Last night police said the exact cause of the explosion and the amount of property damaged was still under investigation.
(China Daily)
