Videos of aftermath shared online show injured people and collapsed, damaged buildings.
By Kevin Schoenmakers
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
State news agency Xinhua reported Monday evening that seven people have died after an explosion occurred in Fugu County, in northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, at about 2 p.m. 94 people have been hospitalized.
Videos and photos shared online show buildings with windows blown out, damaged cars, and debris scattered throughout a large area.
It is not clear what caused the explosion, but an initial report says it happened in the basement of a building, which has entirely collapsed. Photos show a hospital near the explosion that appears to be heavily damaged, with many of its windows blown out and destruction to its facade.
An eyewitness who posted photos of the aftermath on their Weibo microblog told Sixth Tone by telephone that the hospital and a nearby kindergarten were most damaged in the explosion.
He said that the area is home to a large mining industry, and that improperly or illegally stored explosives are a problem the local authorities have been trying to combat. Government statistics show that there are 21 mining companies in the town.
For the most up to date version of this story click the 'Read more' link at the bottom of the screen to go to the original article.
Additional reporting by Wang Lianzhang.
(Header image: People walking through the explosion site in Fugu County, Shaanxi province, Oct. 24, 2016. Yujianyulin/IC)
