One person died and two were injured when a two-story residence in suburban Qingpu District collapsed at about 6:30am yesterday, local television reported. Officials believe it was triggered by a gas explosion.
The man who died, surnamed Dong, and his injured wife, surnamed Jiang, both from Anhui Province, were pulled from the wreckage of their home at No. 188 Xujiabang Village in Zhujiajiao Town at about 9am. Dong later died in hospital and Jiang suffered multiple injures that are not life-threatening, the report said.
According to a preliminary investigation, the landlord, a local man surnamed Pan, was using liquefied gas on the first floor when the accident happened, which might have caused the explosion.
“The building was owned by Pan and his brother,” a resident surnamed Lu, who is also Pan’s brother-in-law, told the station. “Six out of the eight rooms were affected.”
Pan managed to escape from the collapse in time, but received burns over 28 percent of his body, particularly on his face and limbs, and is being treated at Ruijin Hospital, the report said.
