Explosion in China’s Chongqing kills 16

A building housing a canteen in Chongqing in China’s southwest has collapsed after an explosion suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, killing at least 16, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

On Saturday (today), the Chinese broadcaster said, 26 people had been taken from the site, 16 of whom died.

The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a team of more than 600 personnel to the scene in Chongqing’s Wulong district, CCTV added.

Images posted by the showed heavy equipment lifting slabs of concrete from the site of the explosion.

Several other pictures showed rescue personnel and men in military uniform digging through the rubble and carrying some of the injured.

According to reports, the explosion took place while the people were having their lunch.

The report added, the cause of explosion is being investigated.

Moreover the construction and industrial accidents are not uncommon in China, often due to managers cutting corners, lax safety standards and decaying infrastructure.

Earlier this week, a landslide at a construction site in southwest China’s Guizhou province killed at least 14 people.

In December 2020, at least 18 people were killed after being trapped in a mine in Chongqing.

Among China’s worst accidents was a massive 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin that killed 173 people.