No fataltites in Xi'an explosion( Xinhua) 20:36, October 23, 2013 No fatalities have been reported after an explosion wrecked a building Xi'an, capital ofnorthwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Wednesday afternoon.
The blast,in an industrial park in Beilin District, occurred around 5 p.m. in the second flooroffice of a Chinese medicine company . Xinhua reporters on the scene saw flames, brokenwindows and glass littering the ground. Several cars parked nearby were damaged,
Pictures circulating on the Internet showed walls collapsed on the second of 10 storeys inwest wing of the building, with heavy smoke billowing into the sky.
"The whole second floor is unrecognizable. It's on fire now," said a Sina Weibo microbloggerwho was thrown to the ground by the explosion.
Chen, another Weibo user, told Xinhua that she was working on the third floor of thebuilding when the blast occurred.
"The blast happened before 5 o'clock. It was still working time, and there were manypeople in the building."
Some of her colleagues were injured by flying glass, and one struck by falling debris. Thebuilding caught a fire last year, Chen added.
The scene has been cordoned off and roads around the site blocked off to make way for therescue operation, said Yang Tao, a local traffic police officer. Witnesses reported only a fewminor injuries with the wounded being sent to nearby hospitals. At least 12 fire engineswere in attendance.
As of 7 p.m., the flames were out and firefighters had left the scene.
An investigation is underway.
(Editor:DuMingming、Zhang Qian) Related reading
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