What’s new: At least 25 people have died after a gas pipe exploded at a residential community food market in Central China’s Hubei province, leaving dozens buried in the debris, according to Chinese media and local government statements. At least 138 more have been injured.
The blast, which occurred around 6:30 a.m. Sunday in the city of Shiyan, caused the market in the Yanhu community to collapse, leaving “many” residents and vendors trapped underground, local authorities said.
The cause of the blast remains under investigation, local authorities said.
As of Monday, more than 160 people had been pulled from the debris, including the 25 dead and 37 deemed critically injured, according to state-run broadcaster CCTV. Others are being treated at local hospitals.
Local authorities have sent more than 2,000 people, including firefighters and medical workers, to the site to help, local authorities said.
What’s more: Local authorities said the market, where the gas pipeline exploded, is a two-story structure built in the early 1990s. According to images and video footage from CCTV, the explosion also damaged nearby buildings, leaving nearby streets covered with rubble and debris.
President Xi Jinping has urged local authorities to investigate the explosion and take “profound” lessons from the incident. Soon after Xi’s statement, Hubei province authorities announced the launch of a round of inspections for the gas industry that would run through September.
The story has been updated to reflect the latest death toll as of Monday.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
