THIS was the terrifying moment a deadly explosion ripped through a fried chicken shop in northern China, leaving two dead and 26 injured.
Shops, homes, and cars were completely destroyed in the horror blast, which is believed to have been caused by a gas leak, according to state reports.
Chilling footage shows the moment the eatery is engulfed by a massive fireball in the county of Sanhe, about an hour’s drive from the capital Beijing.
Clips from drivers passing by showed large billows of grey smoke into the air almost as far as buildings on the other side of the road.
Two large buildings were completely destroyed in the blast, footage shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed.
Videos on social media showed more of the apocalyptic aftermath, with mangled cars, metal debris and glass shards in the streets, and some objects still ablaze.
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The blast took place just before 8am on Wednesday, CCTV reported.
Yanjiao, city emergency officials in Yanjiao said in a statement that A suspected gas leak triggered the accident.
“I heard a great big bang… which scared me stiff,” a seller at a local market said.
“Outside, I saw clouds of black smoke,” they added.
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Another seller said they also heard a “huge bang” from the blast site, in a bustling area of squat apartment blocks about six or seven floors high.
“The noise was too loud,” a vender surnamed Wang said, adding she had heard a “second explosion”.
“When I saw many people were running there, I took a video,” a local man said.
“The smoke was thick but I didn’t see the explosion. When I reached the scene, there was still smoke,” he explained.
Rescuers, firefighters, health and other officials were called to the scene.
The fire had been brought under control, fire officials said in an earlier statement, adding that 36 vehicles and 154 people had been dispatched to the site and were carrying out rescue work.
It comes after at least 31 people died and seven more injured after a massive explosion at a barbecue restaurant in China.
Nine people, including the owner, were arrested after a blast rocked the venue in Yinchuan as crowds filled the streets on the eve of a holiday celebration.
The explosion shorlty before 9pm local time on Wednesday was caused by a leaking liquefied petroleum gas tank at the restaurant in northwestern China, according to a state-run news agency.
A witness described seeing a waiter collapse outside the eatery as thick smoke and a strong smell of cooking gas flooded the area.
Explosions and other deadly accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards and poor enforcement.
A recent spate of such accidents has prompted calls from President Xi Jinping for “deep reflection” and greater efforts to stop them.
Last month, at least 15 people were killed and 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in the eastern city of Nanjing.
In January, dozens died after a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the blaze had been caused by the “illegal” use of fire by workers in the store’s basement.
That fire came just days after a late-evening blaze at a school in central Henan province killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.
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Domestic media reports suggested the fire was caused by an electric heating device.
Last June, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.
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Juliana Cruz Lima
