7 dead in gas explosion at restaurant in NW China

  

BEIJING, China -- An explosion in a restaurant in northwestern China has killed at least seven people and injured another 31.

State media say the blast happened at the start of this morning's rush hour in a fast food restaurant in Xi'an (shee'-ahn).

The official Xinhua (shihn-wah) news agency says the blast likely was caused by a natural gas leak. The explosion knocked windows out as far as a mile away.

Photos on the website of the Xi'an Daily show the front of a building had been blown into a street where there were several bodies covered in blue plastic.

Reports say many of the victims, including children, were walking by the front of the restaurant or waiting for a bus.

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