YUANPING, Shanxi Province: An explosion at a hospital in North China's Shanxi
Province killed at least 27 people yesterday and left the site looking a warzone
littered with wrecked buildings.
Rescuers are searching for
survivers at the site. [newsphoto] |
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The death toll may rise, Xinhua reported.
The blast occurred at about 2:25 am in an underground garage of the staff
hospital of Xuangang Coal and Electricity Co Ld in Yuanping, local sources
confirmed.
It destroyed a two-storey residence directly above and brought down a section
of a nearby five-storey building housing medical staff.
Buildings within a 1-kilometre radius suffered damage.
Twenty-seven bodies were found as of 11:00 pm and seven people have been
hospitalized.
Armed police were mobilized to help rescue efforts and rescuers were digging
through the debris for victims, said Li You, an official with the hospital's
security department.
A resident who lives about 2 kilometres from the blast site said that windows
in her neighbourhood were shattered when the explosion shook the city.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is
under way.