Five killed as explosion rips through Xiamen apartment building
Gas leak suspected as cause of blast that injured another 10 people
PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 3:32pm
UPDATED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 7:01pm
Nectar Gan [email protected]
Firefighters are searching for people who might have been trapped in the rubble. Photo: Weibo
Five people were killed and 10 others were badly injured in an explosion at a Xiamen apartment building this morning, suspected to have been caused by a gas leak.
The blast ripped through four stores in the residential building’s ground floor at around 11.20am on Friday, local newspaper Xiamen Daily reported on its official microblog.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals and firefighters are searching for people who might have been trapped inside the building.
Firemen extricate gas canisters from the scene of the explosion in this unverified Weibo photo. Photo: Weibo
Witnesses said a strong shock wave could be felt in neighbouring buildings in Siming district of Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province.
The glass windows of a building across the road shattered, state broadcaster CCTV’s Financial Channel reported on Weibo.
The origin of the blast was believed to be a gas tank used in a restaurant, the Daily said.
This unverified photo sent to Xiamen Daily by a reader purportedly shows a man injured in the blast. Photo: Weibo
One injured woman who was being treated at hospital said she smelled a strong odour like gas shortly before the explosion, according to Fujian News Radio.
An operator on the ground floor at the Cathay Building across the road said she heard a loud bang and felt the ground shake.
"It was really loud, and the shock was very strong, like an earthquake. I've never experienced anything like this in my whole life," she told the South China Morning Post.
"People from upstairs said they felt the whole building was shaking," she said.
The scene on the street in the aftermath of the explosion. Photos: Weibo
The glass on the building's 29th floor shattered, she said, and some people in the offices on the 3rd to the 9th floor were wounded by shards of falling glass.
Residents in the apartment block where the explosion happened all use piped gas, but the stores on the ground floor use gas tanks, the report said.
An aerial view of the building showing part of the damage on the ground floor. Photo: Weibo
Authorities are investigating the source of the gas tank and whether it had undergone safety checks. The government is still following up with several gas companies in the city.
No problems were found in the building’s gas pipes after inspection, the Daily reported.
