2 injured in barbecue restaurant blast in China

Video circulating on social media showed the ground and first floors of the building housing the restaurant blackened, windows and doors smashed and smoke pouring out of the remains of the structure.

Mainland media quoted the restaurant’s owner as saying that a cook had been injured and taken to hospital.

Huaian has a population of 4.55 million and is about 400km (250 miles) northwest of Shanghai.

The explosion came three days after seven people died and 27 others were injured in a blast in Yanjiao, a commuter town in Hebei province near Beijing.

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Chinese state media blocked from deadly blast site, raising rare controversy over press controls

Chinese state media blocked from deadly blast site, raising rare controversy over press controls

Officials said the blast was caused by a gas pipeline leak.

In June, a gas explosion at a restaurant in the northwestern region of Ningxia killed 31 people and led to a nationwide safety inspection campaign.