16 killed, 10 injured in canteen building explosion in China; probe ordered

China on Saturday ordered an investigation into the blast in a canteen building in Wulong District on Friday, which killed 16 people and injured 10 others as they were having lunch.

The explosion which occurred on Friday at noon was suspected to have been triggered by a gas leakage leading to the building's collapse, trapping 26 people inside the Sub-District Office in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Sixteen people were killed and 10 injured, one critically, the report said.

By midnight on Friday, all the trapped were pulled out of the debris. The injured are receiving treatment in a hospital.

According to witnesses, people were having lunch in the canteen when the blast took place.

The Work Safety Committee of China's Central Cabinet, also called the State Council, will supervise the investigation into the canteen building collapse, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) said on Saturday.

A work team was dispatched by the ministry to the site to guide rescue and investigation efforts, with more than 600 people participating in the rescue work, the report said.