On December 12th, an explosion suspected to be caused by a gas leak occurred at a barbecue restaurant in a residential area in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province. The explosion resulted in a fire engulfing the surroundings, with debris scattered from the impact. Thirteen individuals were reported injured, two of them in critical condition.
Social media posts on December 12th shared a video claiming that an explosion had taken place at a commercial establishment near the Dōng Ruì Chūn Chéng residential area in the Longshan District of Liaoyuan, Jilin. The incident happened at a barbecue restaurant.
Footage from the scene depicted flames roaring post-explosion, with the fiery blaze lighting up the area and debris flying around.
According to reports from various media outlets in China, witnesses described the ground floor of the scene as being occupied by Jì Shì Táng Pharmacy, with a barbecue restaurant on the second floor, and a dance studio on the left side of the building spanning the first and second floors. At the time of the explosion, numerous students were attending classes. Both the pharmacy and the dance studio suffered varying degrees of damage, with individuals trapped on the second floor and passersby affected by the blast.
In the evening of the 12th, the Liaoyuan City Emergency Management Bureau issued a report stating that the suspected gas explosion incident had occurred at a retail store around 6 a.m. that morning. Thirteen individuals are undergoing treatment in hospital, two of whom are in critical condition. The cause of the accident remains unknown.