3 Killed In Restaurant Blast In Shenyang: Chinese Media

Three people were killed and more than 30 injured on Thursday (Oct. 21) after a gas explosion in a restaurant in Shenyang, the capital city of China's Liaoning province, state media reported.

Photo Insert: Rescuers survey the aftermath of the restaurant explosion in Shenyang.

Footage shared by state-run People's Daily on social media showed the windows ripped out of several buildings in a street coated in dust and debris. The blast occurred on Thursday morning on the residential street, which is lined with businesses, official news agency Xinhua said.

More than 100 firefighters were sent to the scene and rescue work was still ongoing. Investigators have "preliminarily determined that the explosion occurred within a commercial and residential building," Liaoning's emergency response authority said in a social media post.

Photos published by the Liaoning emergency services showed rescuers in hard hats surrounded by debris.

Gas explosions are common in China due to weak safety standards and poor enforcement. A blast in June killed 25 people and injured more than a hundred others when a gas line exploded in a residential compound in central China's Hubei province.

Eight people, including the general manager of the company that owned the gas pipe, were later detained after authorities found "unsound" safety practices and serious defects in the pipe.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic