China: One Dead and 22 Wounded After Big Bang at Restaurant · Global Voices

One man lost his life and 22 others were injured after being estimated to have been due to a gas leak in Hebei Province in northern China. “For the moment”, authorities are talking about “a dead and 22 injured,” the CCTV network said, specifying that the explosion at the restaurant, which mainly offered grilled chicken, was a gas leak. The store was home to a village belonging to the municipality of Yanjiao, about 50 km east of Beijing. The explosion, which occurred at 07:55 (p. local time; 01:55 hour Greece) almost completely destroyed the building where the restaurant was based and caused damage to cars. 36 vehicles and 154 members of the emergency relief services were rushed on site, the fire department said. Fatal accidents are often recorded in China because of the laxity in implementing and enforcing safety regulations. President Shi Jinping gave at the beginning of the year “significant instructions” to reduce “the number of accidents”. Rescue underground after targeted gas blast at restaurant in north — CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) In February, a fire in an apartment building cost 15 people lives in the city of Nankin, eastern China. In January, at least 39 people died when a fire broke out in a commercial store in Sinyu (central China). Just 5 days earlier, a school dorm fire cost 13 small students life. In June, an explosion in a restaurant cost the lives of 31 people and prompted authorities to launch a national awareness and information campaign to promote job security.