Restaurant explosion kills 31 in northwest China

At least 31 people were killed when an explosion caused by a gas leak ripped through a restaurant in the northwestern Chinese city of Yinchuan, state media said Thursday.

The blast occurred on the eve of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, when many in China go out and socialise with friends. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed more than a dozen firefighters working at the site as smoke poured out of a gaping hole in the restaurant's facade.