Firefighters try to extinguish a fire after an explosion at a restaurant in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China, Oct. 10, 2015. (Photo : Reuters)
Fourteen students were among the 17 dead from a liquefied gas explosion in a restaurant in eastern China's Anhui Province on Saturday, local authorities said.
The students, aged 15 to 20, were from nearby schools, the local government told the press on Sunday.
Three other men aged between 33 and 59, including a father and his son, were also killed. Carbon monoxide poisoning was said to be the cause for most of the fatalities.
According to initial investigation, a leaking gas cylinder in a private restaurant, located on the first floor in a six-storey building in Jinghu District of Wuhu City, had triggered the explosion before noon on Saturday.
"When the fire broke out, people from nearby restaurants rushed to the scene and used fire extinguishers to try and put it out," a restaurant worker near the site of the explosions was quoted by the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper on Sunday. "But there was a lot of smoke and it was quite fierce and already blocked the door."
Officials said that the fire was put out in about half an hour, with more than 30 firefighters involved in the rescue efforts.
The owner of the restaurant, Zhang Baoping, a 38-year-old man from neighboring Hanshan County, has been put under police investigation.
The restaurant opened in August without an official license, according to authorities.
Zhang said that he and his wife rented the restaurant space to sell fried noodles and other snacks.
When the accident happened, he tried to put out the fire with water and a fire extinguisher, but the blast came shortly after. Both he and his wife were injured.
The local government said that further investigation of the accident is still underway.
