On the morning of April 17th, a residential unit in a high-rise building on Nanji Street in Daowai District, Harbin, Heilongjiang province suddenly exploded and caught fire, with the current casualties unknown.
The video circulating online on April 17th showed a residential unit in a high-rise building engulfed in flames and emitting thick smoke. The windows on one floor were severely damaged, with the glass missing.
According to a netizen, “I was waiting at a red light in my car below, and the rear windshield of my car shattered directly.”
A shop owner on Nanji Street told reporters from Jimo News that around 8 a.m. on the 17th, he heard a loud noise in his store and later learned that an explosion had occurred in a residential unit in a nearby building.
On that morning, a merchant in the community told reporters from Da Wan News that their staff heard the noise and saw thick smoke around 8 o’clock in the morning, with the fire not yet extinguished.
According to personnel from the Daowai District Emergency Management Bureau in Harbin, they have received reports and emergency and firefighting departments have rushed to the scene for handling. Currently, the cause of the explosion and the extent of casualties are unclear.