Cooking gas explosion kills 31 people at a barbecue restaurant in northwestern China
Beijing (AP): A massive cooking gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in northwestern China killed 31 people and injured seven, Chinese authorities said Thursday.
The blast tore through the establishment at around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on a busy street in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as people were gathering on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The festival is a national holiday devoted to eating rice dumplings and racing boats manned by teams of paddlers.
Online news site The Paper cited a woman identified only by her surname Chen saying she had been about 50 meters (164 feet) from the restaurant when she heard the explosion. She described seeing two waiters emerge from the restaurant afterward, one of whom collapsed immediately, while thick smoke billowed from the restaurant and a strong smell of cooking gas permeated the area.
The Central Government's Ministry of Emergency Management said on its social media account that search and rescue work at the restaurant was completed early Thursday morning and investigators were sent to determine the cause of the blast.
Industrial accidents of this type are a regular occurrence in China, usually attributed to poor government supervision, corruption, cost-cutting measures by employers and little safety training for employees.
At least nine people were killed in an explosion at a Chinese petrochemical plant, and three others died in a helicopter crash during the country's May Day holiday.
In February, 53 miners were killed in the collapse of a massive open pit coal mine in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, leading to numerous arrests, and four people were detained over a fire at an industrial trading company in central China in November that killed 38 people.
The central government has pledged stronger safety measures since an explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers. In that case, a number of local officials were accused of having taken bribes to ignore safety violations. (AP)
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Man City makes it six Premier League wins in a row with 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest
Manchester (England) (AP): Rayan Cherki kept Manchester City's Premier League title challenge powering on with a late winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The France forward's 83rd minute strike secured a 2-1 victory at the City Ground to make it six league wins in a row for Pep Guardiola's team.
City is on an eight-game winning run in all and provisionally moved to the top of the standings — one point ahead of Arsenal, which was playing Brighton later on Saturday.
“Today is a big win,” Cherki told TNT Sports. “I'm proud of the team because this game is very complicated to win.”
It was Cherki's second goal in three games and fifth over all. He also provided an assist with an intricate pass to Tijjani Reijnders to put City ahead three minutes into the second half.
Omari Hutchinson equalized for relegation-fighting Forest, which was holding out for a crucial point until Cherki fired through a crowded box for the winner.
Guardiola looks like a man who believes his team is ready to regain the title it surrendered to Liverpool last season. He joined in the celebrations with the traveling fans after the final whistle — acting conductor as they celebrated wildly after another win.
