18 dead, 189 hurt as tanker truck explodes on China highway

• June, 15 2020 à 17:08
• Jean-Claude Dorsainvil
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A view of the damaged buildings in the aftermath of a tanker truck explosion near Liangshan village of Wenling city in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Saturday. The truck carrying liquefied gas exploded around 4:45 pm on the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway before veering onto a factory workshop causing a second explosion according to local reports. (Photo: Xinhua/AP)
BEIJING, China (AP) — A tanker truck exploded on a highway in south-eastern China on Saturday, killing 18 people and injuring at least 189 others, authorities said.
The explosion caused extensive damage to nearby buildings. One photo showed firefighters hosing down a row of buildings with blown-out facades well into the night.
The truck carrying liquefied gas exploded around 4:45 pm on the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway south of Shanghai in Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing local authorities.
A second explosion followed when the truck fell onto a factory workshop, Xinhua said.
The Wenling city government information office said on its social media account that houses and workshops collapsed and 189 people were treated at six hospitals.
A worker at a nearby restaurant told Xinhua that the blast shattered the windows of her home, but that her mother and brother were unharmed.