Gas explosion at restaurant in eastern China kills 17 people

WUHU, China, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A gas explosion at a restaurant in eastern China's Anhui Province on Saturday killed at least 17 people, including 14 students.

Xinhua news agency, China's state media entity, quoted local authorities as saying the blast occurred after a gas cylinder caught fire in the restaurant, which was located on the first floor of a six-story building in the Jinghu District of Wuhu.

The students, whose ages ranged from 15 to 20, came from multiple schools in the area, and three other men between 33 and 59 years of age, including a father and son, also died in the blast.

Officials say many of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Owner Zhang Baoping, 38, and his wife -- both of whom were injured -- reportedly attempted to douse the flames before the explosion.

More than 30 firefighters took about an hour and a half to put out the fire before the bodies could be recovered.

Zhang, who reportedly opened the restaurant Aug. 18 without a license, is under investigation.

Large mid-August explosions at a chemical storage plant in Tianjin, China, meanwhile, reportedly killed more than 100 people.