7 Dead, At Least 66 Injured in Massive Explosion at Kindergarten in China

A massive explosion at a kindergarten in Fengxian County, Jiangsu Province on Thursday, left at least seven people dead and 66 others injured, police said.

It is not clear whether the blast, which occurred while children were being picked up from school around 4:50 p.m. local time, was an accident or set up on purpose.

According to Al Jazeera, citing the Global Times, the incident was caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder at a food stall on the side of the road, which is currently being investigated by the Fengxian County police.

Disturbing mobile phone camera footage showed more than a dozen people lying unconscious in front of the school’s steel sliding gate.

(WARNING: Extremely graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The blast ripped of the clothes of some people lying on the ground next to pools of blood.

The video also shows one woman in tears with her child in her arms as ambulances arrived on the scene and paramedics wheeled people into an emergency room.

The Xuzhou government said two people died in front of the nursery and five others later lost their lives at a local hospital, while at least four others were seriously wounded.

It is the second tragedy to hit a Chinese kindergarten in recent weeks, according to the BBC.

In May, 11 children were killed after a bus filled with kindergarten students erupted in flames inside a tunnel in eastern Shandong Province.

The fire was reportedly started by the driver, who also died in the incident.

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