Beijing: At least three people were killed and 14 others were trapped in debris after a building collapsed because of the alleged gas leak in the sub-district office in southwest China on Friday.
The explosion occurred in the sub-district office in Wulong District Chongqing Municipality, trapping 27 people.
Thirteen people have been pulled out of debris, three of them died during rescue efforts, CGTN-TV managed by the state quoting the emergency response team in place.
The accident occurred at 12:10 a.m.
local time because of the alleged gas leak that triggered an explosion and caused the collapse of the canteen building, the city’s publicity department said.
Rescuers were looking for 14 others who were buried in the rubble, the Xinhua news agency managed by the government reported.
According to witnesses, people ate lunch in the canteen when the explosion occurred.
A number of people were injured and had been rushed to the hospital; Rescue work was underway, Xinhua reported.
The Ministry of Emergency Management China has sent several experts to guide rescue efforts.
Emergency Management Minister Huang Ming called for an effort to immediately examine the situation, finding out the number of victims trapped, determining the cause of the accident and preventing accidents like that happen again.
More than 150 firefighters and professional rescuers and a group of rescue dogs competed against time to find people trapped.
China in recent months witnessed the explosion in restaurants, killing and injuring many people who were mostly blamed for gas leaks.