A residential building damaged after an explosion reportedly caused by explosives hidden in parcels, in Liucheng county in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, 30 September 2015. [UPDATE - 12.30pm, October 1]
A new explosion rocked Liucheng county in China’s southwestern Guangxi province on Thursday morning – the day after a series of bombs hidden in parcels exploded and killed at least seven people and injured dozens more.
One person was injured in the latest blast, at about 8am in a fifth-floor flat in a residential block on the first day of China’s seven-day National Day, and followed the reported arrest of a suspect in the deadly bombings.
The explosion caused structural damage to the brick building and led to parts of the brickwork falling onto the street below. Residents said they felt the building shaking after hearing the sound of a large explosion.
Bombs hidden in courier parcels delivered to various locations across a county in Guangxi province exploded yesterday, killing at least seven and injuring more than 50 ahead of the seven-day National Day holiday.
The blasts happened in the city of Liuzhou, and its surrounding areas, with the first bang heard at around 3.50pm, state media Xinhua reported. Five people died at the scene.
Local police said they had found a suspect, a 33-year-old man, surnamed Wei, from Dapu township. The blasts were triggered by explosive devices hidden in express delivery packages, police said.
Nanguo Zaobao reported that Wei had since been arrested.
There were at least 17 blasts, media reports said, with targets of attack including the Dapu township government office, supermarkets, malls, a hospital, prison, bus terminal, an animal husbandry staff dormitory and a centre for infectious disease and prevention.
More than 50 people were injured in the blasts and two people missing, but the authorities had ruled out a terrorist attack, China National Radio reported, citing police information.
On Dapu's Dongcheng Road - one of the blast sites - part of a building had collapsed. Nearby vehicles were also damaged.
Speaking at a press conference, Liucheng county public security political commissar Cai Tianlai said a total of 60 suspicious courier parcels had since been identified after reports from members of the public.
The suspicious parcels were being guarded, pending processing by a bomb squad, according to China News Service.
Local authorities had activated their emergency response mechanism and the local safety administration had sent out an emergency alert, saying the series of explosions had been triggered by parcel bombs and warning the public not to open parcels, Nanguo Zaobao reported.
"I was sitting in my shop when I heard a sudden loud bang. I was in shock … My hair was flying in the air from the shock waves," said Li Acheng, 30, owner of a fruit store 350 metres from the collapsed building.
"Some windows in my shop broke. I walked outside to see what had happened and was almost hit by a falling window from the third floor.
"I saw half of a building nearby collapse.