Huge fire and explosion at luxury apartment building in China

A powerful explosion occurred at a high-rise apartment building in Shenzhen city, southern China on December 11, causing surrounding high-rise buildings to shake, according to the country's media.

Shenzhen Fire Brigade said it dispatched 16 fire engines and 80 rescuers to the scene after receiving reports of an emergency in the residential area.

Video recorded by people.

A video posted by local media showed flames engulfing the exterior of the building, and thick smoke billowing into the sky.

At around 4pm local time, firefighters at the scene said that according to preliminary investigation results, the fire started near apartment C on the 28th floor of the building, and the cause of the fire was a gas explosion. The specific cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Immediately after the incident, someone fell from the building and was taken to the emergency room by ambulance.

Also according to information from Sohu newspaper, in the chat group of local residents, someone said "it was due to gas" and "neighbors smelled gas".

According to a witness, the incident happened at around 2:40 p.m. Initially, he heard a loud bang and thought it was the sound of a supersonic aircraft. However, when he looked outside, he discovered that the explosion had occurred at a residential building opposite. The building's windows had been blown out. Initially, there was no fire, but two minutes later, flames started to break out. The witness said he saw a woman standing by the window, possibly fainted from the smoke and fire, and then fell from the building.

" Suddenly, there was a loud bang that shook the whole table ," a 30-year-old man surnamed Zhang who works in a nearby office building told Reuters.