Police officers carry the bodies of the victims at the blast scene in Laoshan Village, Kaili City in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Jan. 14, 2014. Eight suspects were detained as the death toll from a southwest China village blast rose to 15, local police said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) |
KAILI, Guizhou, Jan. 14 -- Police have begun further investigation into Monday's fatal blast at a village gambling site in Kaili City in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
Fifteen people were killed in the explosion that occurred at 2:40 p.m. Monday at a gambling den on a remote mountain slope at Laoshan village in Kaili City, said police.
Another eight people were injured in the blast. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were all in stable condition with no life-threatening injuries.
The casualties were people who had gathered at the site to gamble, said police after an initial investigation.
The eight injured people were receiving medical treatment in two hospitals in Kaili, and one may have lost his eyesight.
Five of the injured people were undergoing treatment at the Qiandongnan Prefecture People's Hospital for lacerations and injuries to their faces and heads due to rubble from the blast, said Jiang Xiaohai, a doctor with the hospital.
"My husband called and said he was dying and his eyes were blind. He said 'I have only the last breath' and he asked me to take care of our child," said Pan Shasha, the wife of a 26-year-old man who had injuries to both of his eyes in the blast.
His left eye had ruptured, according to the hospital.
Pan said she went to the blast site immediately after receiving the call. She found her husband with blood on his face and there were some corpses near the blast site.
"I heard that they were playing the 'Gundilong' gambling game in the dens," she said.
"Gundilong" is played using a big box and dice. Gambling games have been found in the remote areas in Guizhou and some other regions in China.
Police have detained eight suspects, including three who surrendered themselves to police.
Police are still investigating the case. A working team from the Ministry of Public Security arrived at the scene early Tuesday to help with investigation.
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