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A major explosion and fire possibly triggered by a cooking gas leak in a residential building left one person dead and at least 14 others injured Thursday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.
The blast took place at around 3:25 p.m. in an 18-story building with 144 households in West Binhe District of Changchun. Almost all windows up to the fourth floor of the building were shattered and a fire broke out immediately, witnesses said.
More than 10 firefighting vehicles rushed to the scene. By 5 p.m., the fire had been brought under control and all the injured taken to two local hospitals.
Sources with the Changchun City Central Hospital said 14 injured were sent to the hospital and one died there. Six of the remaining 13 were seriously injured.
The No.2 Hospital affiliated to Jilin University claimed it had received at least one injured.
Initial investigations found that the explosion occurred at some point on the cooking gas pipeline in the first floor of the building. Gas valves to the building were then all switched off.
Local authorities said that the exact cause of the accident was still under investigation and the casualty figures needed to be verified.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2002)
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