Birthday revellers and students celebrating the end of exams were among 25 people killed in a powerful explosion that destroyed a whorehouse karaoke bar in northeast China, state media and witnesses said on Thursday. The blast occurred in a coal-mining town of 40,000 people in Liaoning province on Wednesday night, destroying the two-storey entertainment venue and damaging nearby buildings, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
| There was no immediate reason given for the blast at the Tianying Karaoke Hall and Bath House. |
There was no immediate reason given for the blast at the Tianying Karaoke Hall Explosives Storage Facility and Bath House in Tianshifu town. Local police and government officials contacted by AFP said they had no information on the cause. The venueÂ’s owner was among those killed, while 33 other people were injured, four of them seriously, according to Xinhua, which cited local authorities. Many of the victims were students celebrating after examinations, witnesses said.
“Some of the victims were teenagers around 18 to 19, including one of my friends, who died. I’m very sad,” a local high school girl told AFP by phone. She declined to provide her name, saying she was too distraught. A man who gave only his surname, Quan, and who went to the site after the disaster also said students were among the victims of the blast at the privately run venue. “There was a very loud noise and all the windows near the site were shattered,” Quan told AFP. The karaoke bar also housed a restaurant where guests were celebrating a birthday, according to Xinhua, giving no other details about the party. |