One person was killed and another injured when a gas tank at a Chinese eatery erupted with a violent explosion.
The deadly blast reportedly occurred at the Crazy Grilled Wing Grill Bar, located in the city of Yancheng, in the eastern Jiangsu Province at around 6:02am on 17th July.
A pedestrian who happened to be walking past the barbecue joint at the moment of the blast ended up with serious injuries and had to be taken to hospital.
CCTV footage shows the moment he narrowly escaped a more tragic fate as the explosion caught him by complete surprise.
The scene was quickly covered by thick smoke, but another video filmed by an unknown witness shows the devastating aftermath.
In the second clip, it can be clearly seen that the explosion had completely destroyed the restaurant and even shattered the glass of neighbouring shops and eateries.
The blast reportedly claimed another person’s life, though it is unclear where they were at the time of the incident.
It is suspected that the explosion was caused due to the valve of the gas tank in the barbecue shop not being closed, which caused a gas leak.
The gas tank that exploded was a new one that had just been replaced the night before and weighed about 110 lbs (50 kilogrammes).
According to firefighters who were at the scene, the tank weighed only 60 lbs (27 kilogrammes) after the explosion.
The restaurant owner, surnamed Wu, has been detained by the police, and an investigation is currently underway.
This incident follows another gas explosion in June that claimed 31 lives in the northwestern Ningxia region.
The increasingly recurring issue of accidents caused by gas explosions prompted President Xi Jinping to address safety concerns, with online users demanding officials take swift action to avoid any more deaths.
