GUANGZHOU, March 3 -- Local authorities have blamed a gas leak for an explosion on Monday that claimed one life and injured another 31 people in a restaurant in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province.

The blast occurred at 12:10 p.m. in the kitchen of a staff canteen for workers at Chinese oil refiner Sinopec's Dongguan branch, said sources with the publicity office of Dongguan city government.

Wang Weixuan, a spokesman for the city's fire department, said investigation had showed that the gas tank in the restaurant exploded due to a gas leak, and the ceiling collapsed.

All the injured people were sent to a nearby hospital, with 11 of them already discharged. Some of them are in severe conditions, however.

Further investigation and treatment for those in serious condition are under way.