An explosion occurred in Xing'an County, Guilin, Guangxi, China in the early hours of Thursday, resulting in 7 deaths and 17 injuries. According to local residents and video footage from the scene, two loud explosions were heard at the site, and a towering burst of fire was seen in the darkness. The blast even shattered windows in nearby homes. Police have initially ruled out the possibility of pipeline gas causing the explosion.
According to the "Ping'an Xing'an" WeChat public account, the Xing'an County Public Security Bureau released a police report stating that the explosion occurred at around 1:40 am on Thursday on Lingxiang Road of Xing'an Town, Xing'an County.
So far, the incident has caused 7 deaths, and 17 injured people have been sent to the hospital for treatment, none of whom are in life-threatening condition. Other people with minor injuries have been properly arranged after receiving medical attention at the hospital. On-site rescue work is still ongoing.
The report said that a preliminary investigation has ruled out causes such as pipeline gas, and public security authorities are conducting further investigations into the cause of the incident.
A deputy mayor of Xing'an Town told The Beijing News that he was present to help evacuate residents, and the cause of the explosion is under investigation. Some residents said that at the time, they heard two explosions and the sound of ambulances, and their windows were also shattered.
An employee of Xing'an County Hospital said that a green channel for emergency treatment had been opened to treat multiple injured people, and those seriously injured had been transferred to other hospitals.