Authorities in northeast China's Liaoning Province have confirmed the
identities of the 25 people killed in a blast at a karaoke bar
which also injured 41 people, four seriously, a local government
spokesman said on Friday.
The explosion occurred at a karaoke bar in Tianshifu Township of
Benxi Autonomous County of Manchu ethnic group in Liaoning on Wednesday
night, which leveled the two-storey entertainment venue to the
ground and damaged some nearby buildings.
The 25 victims, who were killed on the spot, included the bar
owner Qu Yijie (known locally as Qu Hua), his elder brother and his
elder brother's wife, said Fu Qingbin, a spokesman for the Benxi
county government.
More than 10 teenage girls were celebrating a birthday for a
19-year-old girl Sun Bo, who worked at a nearby department store
and most of them died in the blast, Fu said.
The victims also included a motorcycle driver and a truck driver
who were passing the door of the KTV bar and a couple who owned a
nearby carwash shop, he said.
The relatives of the victims have been arranged to stay in local
hotels, waiting to discuss the issue of compensation with local
authorities.
The 41 people injured in the blast are still being treated in
local hospitals and are in a stable condition, local health
authorities said.
Four people suffered serious injuries, while 37 others suffered
fractures, chest injuries and broken ribs, said a physician.
One seriously wounded person has been transferred to Benxi City
Central Hospital. The others are either in Benxi County No. 1
hospital or at a hospital in Tianshifu Township, said Jiang
Yongcheng, deputy director of the Benxi County Health Bureau.
A dozen medical experts have gone to Benxi County to help treat
the victims.
Police are questioning the parlor owner's wife and some
employees of the parlor.
The cause of the blast has not been confirmed, Fu said, but the
Beijing News reported on Friday that TNT explosives were
stored in the basement of the karaoke bar, speculating that its
owner Qu Yijie, who also owned a coal mine, might be to blame for
the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2007)