Illegal demolitions blamed for NW China college dorm blast

Thirty-one people were injured after a gas explosion occurred at a dormitory at a northwest China university on Monday morning, local authorities said.

So far 28 out of the 31 injured are still hospitalized. Twenty-four of them are students, the publicity department of the Chengguan District in Lanzhou said.

The blast occurred at 7:32 a.m. at Lanzhou University in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, seriously damaging three floors of a six-floor dorm building.

An initial probe suggests that the blast was caused by a gas leakage from damaged pipes in a building adjacent to the dorm. The explosion happened while workers were demolishing the building and accidentally cracked the pipes, the department said.

Lanzhou University and the Gansu Provincial the Ninth Construction Group Co., Ltd. decided to start the demolishing work without any formality or license, it said.

After smelling the gas odor at 2 p.m. on Sunday, personnel did not take any measures in the following 17 hours, eventually causing the blast.

People who were responsible for the blast are under police control, according to the department.

The university began its summer holiday, but many students stayed in the dorm for internships, according to the school administration.