A massive explosion ripped through a restaurant Wednesday in northwest China, killing 31 people, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
An employee of the restaurant, an outlet of Fuyang Barbecue in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, was replacing the valve of a gas tank following a perceived gas leak when the blast occurred, according to the AP. The blast ripped through the street bustling with vacationers on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, the AP reported.
Victims reportedly include the elderly and high school students. (RELATED: Suspected Gas Explosion In Paris Leaves Multiple Injured, In Critical Condition)
Thirty-one people were killed after a gas explosion ripped through a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Wednesday night, according to local authorities. https://t.co/S1YewsVwYv pic.twitter.com/vsxZYiko4h
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) June 22, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded a quick investigation into the incident, urgent medical attention for the injured and workplace safety campaigns, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported, according to the AP report. Nine people, including the restaurant’s owner, shareholders and employees, have been detained by authorities and their assets frozen, Xinhua said, according to the AP report.
The Dragon Boat Festival, held Thursday, is an official public holiday in Mainland China marking the suicide of Qu Yuan (c. 339–278 BCE), a poet and government official who died by drowning while serving banishment after being wrongfully slandered, according to The Chinese Language Institute. In its earliest form, however, the festival was celebrated to request good health, as well as a bountiful harvest, from the dragon gods, according to the institute.