The death toll from a suspected gas explosion on the outskirts of Beijing rose to seven on Thursday, as local authorities apologized for preventing state media from reporting on site.
An additional 27 people were injured in the Wednesday blast on the first floor of a multistory building in Yanjiao, a town in Sanhe city in the northeastern Hebei province, about 20 miles east of China's capital.
The city's Emergency Management Bureau said 14 wounded had already been discharged from hospital. An investigation was ongoing into what authorities believed was a natural gas leak, the statement said.
The previous morning's explosion was captured on the dashcam of a nearby car, which showed a fireball erupting from the building along with smoke and debris. Images taken in the aftermath of the blast showed the structure had partially collapsed.
One 68-year-old victim told the Chinese news portal Dawan on Thursday she and others were preparing to attend a gym class upstairs when the explosion rocked the five-story building, which was stripped of its facade.
"As soon as I walked in the building, I noticed the very obvious smell of gas," she said. She was knocked unconscious and broke a finger.
It was the country's latest deadly gas energy accident. The Chinese government has spent years trying to prevent such incidents through stronger regulatory enforcement and public awareness campaigns.
Authorities did not disclose the precise source of the suspected gas leak or identify any of the seven victims.
Sanhe's Emergency Management Bureau did not respond to requests for comment.
The explosion was considered a national-level news event, but at least two state media journalists who sought to report from the scene found themselves stopped by uniformed officers, even as they remained outside the 1,600-foot safety zone.
It led to a rarely seen segment on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, which aired scenes of its reporter Yang Hailing being interrupted as she provided a live update.
In the video, police told her and her crew that the area was "too dangerous." Yang told the news anchors back in the studio that authorities were "intervening."
In another incident, award-winning journalist Xu Mengzhe of the state-owned radio and television broadcaster China Media Group shared a now-deleted social media post of her and her crew being surrounded by uniformed officers and pushed away from the scene.
The two incidents led to an equally rare intervention by the All-China Journalists Association, the membership of which is overseen by the Communist Party. In a statement on Wednesday, the group said journalists had "a right to report legitimately."
"Should a reporter conduct interviews? Yes. During major public safety incidents, the public expects more information," the association said.
Access for journalists can address public concerns and prevent the spread of rumors, it said, adding that an official press release was not a substitute for on-the-ground reporting.
Sanhe's incident task force responded in a statement on Thursday, saying it regretted the actions of its members, who were attempting to enforce a safety perimeter for nonessential personnel. It apologized for the "forcible removal" of state media reporters.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
