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Ammon News - At least 31 people have been killed when an explosion ripped through a restaurant in the north-western Chinese city of Yinchuan on the eve of a popular local holiday, according to state media.

“A leak of liquefied petroleum gas … caused an explosion during the operation of a barbecue restaurant,” state news agency Xinhua said of the Wednesday evening blast, citing the regional Communist party committee.

Seven more people were receiving medical treatment, the agency said, with one of them in a “critical condition”. Two others had suffered severe burns, two had minor injuries and two had scratches caused by flying glass, Xinhua said.

The explosion at about 8:40pm local time on Wednesday took place at the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant in a residential area of downtown Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia autonomous region.

Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed more than a dozen firefighters working at the site as smoke poured out of a gaping hole in the restaurant’s facade. Shards of glass and other debris littered the darkened street, which is also home to a number of other eateries and entertainment venues.

The ministry of emergency management said local fire and rescue services dispatched more than 100 people and 20 vehicles to the scene in the wake of the blast.

The rescue efforts had concluded by 4am on Thursday, it said.

The explosion occurred on the eve of the three-day Dragon Boat festival holiday, when many in China go out and socialise with friends.

The Guardian