Beijing – 18 people have killed while 189 others were injured when a tanker truck exploded on a highway in southeastern China on Saturday, authorities said.
The explosion caused extensive damage to nearby buildings. One photo showed firefighters hosing down a row of buildings with blown-out facades well into the night.
The truck carrying liquefied gas exploded around 4:45 pm. on the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway south of Shanghai in Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing local authorities.
A second explosion followed when the truck fell onto a factory workshop, Xinhua said.
The Wenling city government information office said on its social media account that houses and workshops collapsed and 189 people were treated at six hospitals.
A worker at a nearby restaurant told Xinhua that the blast shattered the windows of her home, but that her mother and brother were unharmed. AP
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