Restaurant gas explosion in Wuhu, eastern China, kills 17 people

At least 17 people have been killed after a large explosion hit a restaurant in eastern China, state media say.

The explosion happened just before noon on Saturday at a small restaurant in Wuhu city’s Jinghu district, the city government said. Wuhu, Anhui is about 350 kilometers (220 miles) west of Shanghai.

An initial investigation showed that a gas cylinder caused the first blast, and followed by another.

Restaurant owner Zhang Baoping, 38, has been put under police investigation.

More than 30 firefighters took about an hour and a half to put out the fire before the bodies could be recovered.

Giant explosions at a chemical storage facility in the northern city of Tianjin killed 165 people in August.

The restaurant was opened with a business license in less than two month.