Yinchuan
\nA gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, northwest Ningxia region, China has left 31 people dead and seven injured. The explosion was caused by a leak from a liquified gas tank inside the restaurant and took place around 8:40 pm on Wednesday night.
\nAmong the seven injured, one person is still in critical condition while the other six are being treated in the hospital for minor injuries, burns, and glass cuts.
\nLocal fire authorities sent 20 vehicles and more than 100 personnel to the scene, with search and rescue operations lasting until 4 a.m. Thursday, according to state media.
\nPhotos posted by state media show the damaged building, with blackened exteriors, debris on the ground, and smoke in the air. Firefighters are seen entering the second floor on a ladder and lifting people out on stretchers.
\nInterviews by police and firefighters on the scene established that two restaurant staffers had smelled gas about an hour before the explosion, the Yinchuan government said in a statement posted online Thursday.
\nThe government has launched an investigation into the incident, and the restaurant owner has been detained by police. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in China. In 2019, a gas explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, eastern China, killed 78 people and injured hundreds more.
\nThe Chinese government has since taken measures to improve safety standards and prevent such incidents from happening again.
\nPolice have detained nine people and frozen their assets, including the restaurant\u2019s manager, employees, and shareholders. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences and called the incident \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d
\nHe urged authorities to treat the wounded, comfort the victims\u2019 families, and investigate the cause of the accident as soon as possible. He also ordered relevant government authorities to conduct a safety risk review and strengthen safety supervision in key sectors.
\nThis incident comes just before China\u2019s three-day national public holiday, from Thursday to Saturday, marking the Dragon Boat Festival. Unfortunately, China has experienced several safety incidents this year, including a coal mine collapse in Inner Mongolia in February that left 53 dead, and the deadliest fire to hit Beijing in two decades in April, which killed 29 people in a hospital. It is essential to prioritize safety and work towards preventing such incidents from happening again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yinchuan A gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, northwest Ningxia region, China has left 31 people dead and seven injured. The explosion was caused by a leak from a liquified gas tank inside the restaurant and took place around 8:40 pm on Wednesday night. Among the seven injured, one person is still in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-339439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n