According to official media, a gas explosion at a BBQ restaurant on Wednesday night in the Chinese city of Yinchuan, in the northwest Ningxia province, resulted in at least 31 fatalities and seven injuries.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, the explosion occurred around 8:40 p.m. and was brought on by a liquid gas tank leak within the restaurant.
One of the seven injured is still in a critical state. The hospital treats the remaining six patients for minor wounds, burns, and glass cuts.
According to state media, local fire departments dispatched 20 trucks and more than 100 workers to the location, and search, and rescue efforts continued there until 4 a.m. on Thursday.
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State media have published images of the damaged structure, which has burned exteriors, rubble on the ground, and smoke in the air. Firefighters can be seen climbing a ladder to the second level and carrying people out on stretchers.
According to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the incident was "heartbreaking" and taught us a "profound lesson." According to CCTV, he has given directions to the responding agencies requiring "all efforts" to treat the injured, increase safety oversight, and ensure the safety of the locals.
Two restaurant employees were found to have smelled gas approximately an hour before the explosion, according to police and fire department interviews conducted on the scene, the Yinchuan government reported in a statement released online on Thursday.
The two employees discovered that the gas tank's valve was damaged and dispatched another employee to buy a replacement. As the valve was being changed, there was an explosion.
According to state media China Youth Daily, police have detained nine people and frozen their assets, including the eatery's management, staff, and shareholders.
According to state media, the eatery is situated on a busy street. The event occurred just before China's three-day national vacation, which runs from Thursday to Saturday and is in honour of the Dragon Boat Festival.
This year, a series of safety-related accidents have jolted the nation. In February, a coal mine collapse in Inner Mongolia claimed the lives of 53 people, while in April, a hospital fire in Beijing claimed the lives of 29 people.
