Cooking gas explosion kills 31 people at barbecue restaurant in China

The Central Government’s Ministry of Emergency Management said on its social media account that search and rescue work at the restaurant was completed early on Thursday morning and investigators were sent to determine the cause of the blast.

Firefighters work at the site of an explosion at a restaurant in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Picture: Wang Peng/Xinhua via AP

Cooking gas caused a massive explosion at a barbecue restaurant in north-western China, killing 31 people and injuring seven others during national celebrations on the eve of a long holiday weekend, authorities have said.

The blast tore through the restaurant at around 8.40pm local time on Wednesday on a busy street in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as people gathered ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, the official Xinhua News Agency said.