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Gas cylinder explosion injures 10 in NW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-04 22:29

LANZHOU - Ten people were injured, one critically, after a gas cylinder exploded in a truck in central Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday.

The accident happened at about 3:20 p.m. when a gas cylinder suddenly exploded in a truck that was stopped at a red light, a municipal government official said.

Three drivers, a bread shop owner, a customer in a restaurant nearby and three passers-by were injured. The truck driver suffered burns to 30 percent of his body and was in serious condition.

Wang Guilan, an 83-year-old woman sitting nearby, was in critical condition as her face and respiratory organs were seriously burned.

Nearby trees were scorched and shop signboards were burned, a Xinhua reporter saw at the site.

Preliminary investigation by the police and work safety authority has ruled out the possibility of deliberate sabotage. The gas cylinders on the truck were not protected by rubber cushions as required, the investigators said.