Global Courant
BEIJING – Chinese police arrested four people on Saturday in connection with an explosion at a restaurant that killed dozens, state media reported.
A gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwestern city of Yinchuan on Wednesday killed at least 31 people and injured seven others.
It happened on the eve of the three-day holiday of the Dragon Boat Festival, when many in China go out to hang out with friends.
The suspects included the restaurant owner, two shareholders and the manager, state news agency Xinhua reported.
They were arrested for allegedly “causing a serious accident through negligence” and a criminal investigation was underway, Xinhua said.
The local public security bureau had frozen the assets of nine individuals, including the four arrested, it added.
An emergency relief mechanism has been launched to help local agencies and financial institutions provide insurance services related to the blast.
A total of 22 people on the victim list were insured and the restaurant was also covered by property insurance, China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration said Friday. The amount of damages exceeded 14 million yuan ($2.63 million).
The injured recovered well after treatment at the hospital, a medical expert said Friday.
Two patients with minor burns and injuries will be discharged shortly. For those with severe burns, doctors have completed wound debridement and treated for airway and lung injuries, said Dr. Lyu Guozhong, director of the national emergency medical research center.
Chinese President Xi Jinping had demanded “full efforts in the treatment of the injured and the strengthening of safety oversight and management in key industries and areas to effectively protect people’s lives and property,” Xinhua said on Thursday.
Explosions and other fatal incidents are relatively common in China, where building codes are often poorly enforced and widespread unauthorized structures can make it difficult for people to escape burning buildings.
A restaurant fire in the northeastern city of Changchun in September 2022 killed at least 17 people, according to local authorities.
In January of the same year, an explosion caused by a suspected gas leak collapsed a building in Chongqing city, killing more than a dozen people.
And 25 people died in a gas explosion that ripped through a residential area in Hubei Province’s Shiyan County in June 2021, also hitting a busy two-story building packed with shoppers. AFP
