Tanker blast kills 18 in China

A tanker truck exploded on a highway in southeastern China on Saturday, killing 18 people and injuring at least 189 others, authorities said.

The explosion caused extensive damage to nearby buildings. One photo showed firefighters hosing down a row of buildings with blown-out facades well into the night.

The truck carrying liquefied gas exploded at 4:45pm on the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway south of Shanghai, Xinhua News Agency said, citing local authorities. A second explosion followed when the truck fell onto a factory workshop, Xinhua said.

The Wenling city government information office said on its social media account that houses and workshops collapsed and 189 people were treated at six hospitals.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, media said. The government commission responsible for safety production called for the probe be completed within a certain time, state media reported, without specifying the period.