MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Blast kills over 100 in China

A "catastrophic" blast has killed over people, injured many others and wrecked houses and vehicles in northwest China's restive Xinjiang region.

The Xinhua news agency said the "catastrophic" blast occurred when a vehicle carrying explosives blew up and killed about 100 people on Friday night in the suburbs of Urumqi, capital of west China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Xinhua said the exact number of those killed in the blast were not provided by the Chinese ministry of public security. However, over 20 vehicles and nearby houses were destroyed.

The explosive laden truck, which was travelling in the western suburbs of Urumqi, suddenly blew up at about 1930 hours (1700 hours IST), the agency quoted the police as saying.

The explosives being carried had been intended for disposal, it said.

Local police are clearing the spot and rescuing the injured people, it said.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, Xinhua added.

The vast, strategically-located Xinjiang region, hosts many Chinese military and nuclear facilities and borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and three former Soviet Central Asian republics.

Xinjiang has been rocked by riots, bombings and assassinations as the Muslim Uygurs attempt to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

Beijing has cracked down on militant groups in Xinjiang and regularly executed their leaders. The most recent case was in July, when the authorities executed three men, they said were separatists linked to a "reactionary Muslim Organisation" involved in making bombs.

Tell us what you think of this report