1 dead and more than 20 hurt in China after blast tears down four-storey building near Beijing

One person was killed and many more were injured when a blast near Beijing early on Wednesday tore down a four-storey building.

A government statement said the blast occurred at 7.54am in Sanhe county of Langfang in northern Hebei province, which neighbours the country’s capital.

It said the blast – suspected to have been caused by a gas leak – occurred at a fried chicken restaurant in Yanjiao, a town in Sanhe.

Sanhe emergency department said one person had died and 22 had been hurt from the blast by 10.43am, and the municipal fire department had sent 36 vehicles and 154 personnel to the scene.