31 dead, 7 injured in gas explosion at barbecue restaurant in China
Thirty-one people were killed in an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, the capital of China’s northern Ningxia region, state media reported Thursday morning.
The blast, the result of a gas leak at Fuyang Barbecue, a popular restaurant on a busy street, happened about 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Seven people were injured, one critically, local authorities said.
Photos from the scene show the front of the restaurant mangled and debris on the ground while emergency services brought people out of the building.
In the wake of the explosion, Yinchuan city government has ordered the city’s BBQ restaurants and night markets to suspend operation, according to local media.
According to a fire department inquiry, two employees reported smelling gas about an hour before the explosion, noticed that a gas tank’s valve was broken and sent for a replacement. The explosion occurred while the valve was being replaced, Xinhua reported.
It took firefighters about 40 minutes to extinguish the resulting blaze, according to the news agency.
Neighbors told local media that the restaurant, which had karaoke rooms and was known for its lamb barbecued on willow-branch skewers, was probably at peak occupancy at the time of the incident, the night before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
Local media reported that a woman at the scene saw two waiters stumble out of the restaurant after the explosion, one of whom collapsed immediately.
The provincial authorities have detained nine people, including the restaurant’s manager and several staff members, and the establishment’s assets have been frozen, Xinhua reported.
Sixty-four neighboring households have been temporarily settled at a nearby hotel as a result of the explosion, state media reported.
A national analysis of gas-related accidents in 2022 found that 45 people died and 294 people were injured in the course of 450 liquid propane gas leak accidents, according to a report by the China City Gas Association.
The explosion in Yinchuan prompted people on social media to wonder whether it would put a damper on a recent trend of dining at barbecue restaurants that has swept the country, or prompt government oversight of barbecue venues.
生词记录
barbecue 烧烤
capital 省会，首都；大写字母
blast 爆炸。爆破；抨击，严厉批评
mangle 撕烂，搅坏，损坏，弄糟
debris 碎片，残片，垃圾，废弃物
in the wake of 作为···的后果，随···之后而来
suspend 暂令停职，暂令停学；暂令停止参加活动；暂停；悬挂
inquiry 询问，打听；调查
valve 阀门
extinguish 扑灭；破灭，消灭，消除
blaze 火灾，大火；光彩夺目的
lamb 小羊羔
willow 垂柳
skewer 烤肉叉子
peak 顶峰，顶点
occupancy 居住，占用；使用率
stumble 犯错，失足；踉跄，绊倒；跌跌撞撞地走，蹒跚而行
collapse 倒塌；昏倒
detain 拘捕；耽搁，阻留
household 家庭，一家人；家喻户晓的
settle 安居；安顿下来
propane 丙烷
put a damper on sth 搅乱，混乱，扰乱
sweep 风行，风靡，迅速蔓延
oversight 监督，监管；疏忽，失察，疏漏
