Gas pipeline blast in northeast China kills five, injures 89

At least five were killed and 89 injured in a gas pipeline explosion in northeastern China, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, the second deadly incident of its kind this week.

The blast occurred at around 2.45 p.m. local time (0645 GMT) on Tuesday in Songyuan city in Jilin province, Xinhua cited government officials there as saying. It did not name the owner of the pipeline.

Xinhua said workers had been repairing a section of the pipeline where there had been a leak. It said the explosion had affected patients and staff at a nearby hospital but gave no other details.

Rescue efforts were underway and an investigation had been launched, Xinhua reported.

The Songyuan blast followed a similar mishap in southwest China's Guizhou Provinces on Sunday, when at least eight people were killed in a natural gas pipeline explosion. That pipeline was operated by China National Petroleum Corp.