Gas leak blamed for Dongguan restaurant blast

Photo taken by cellphone shows rescuers carrying an injured person out of an explosion scene in a restaurant in Dongguan city of South China's Guangdong province, March 3, 2014. One person was killed and another 13 were injured in a restaurant explosion on Monday lunchtime in Dongguan, local authorities said. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

 

GUANGZHOU -- Local authorities have blamed a gas leak for an explosion at a restaurant on Monday that claimed one life and injured 31 in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong province.

The blast occurred at 12:10 pm in the kitchen of a staff canteen at Chinese oil refiner Sinopec's Dongguan branch, said sources with the publicity office of Dongguan city government.

Wang Weixuan, a spokesman for the city's fire department, said investigation had showed that the gas tank in the restaurant exploded due to a gas leak, and the ceiling collapsed.

All the injured people were sent to a nearby hospital, with 11 of them already discharged. Some of them are in severe conditions, however.

Further investigation and treatment for those in serious condition are under way.