Gas explosion injures 21 in SW China

KUNMING, Dec. 14 -- A liquefied gas bottle exploded and injured 21 people in southwest China's Yunnan Province Monday morning, local police said.

The explosion happened at 9:30 a.m. at a rice noodle restaurant in the provincial capital Kunming as a delivery van packed with liquefied gas containers was parking at the door.

Police began transferring the bottles to another pickup truck as soon as they reached the scene.

"The fire was put out soon after the fire trucks arrived," a witness surnamed Sun told Xinhua. "Several people rushed out from the restaurant with their hands clenched on their chest or heads, blood flowing through their fingers."

Ambulances sent the injured, including customers, restaurant staff and several passers-by to a nearby hospital.

According to the local police, one person was seriously injured and the rest suffered minor wounds.