Multiple gas explosions in the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan at about midnight Thursday and early Friday , killed at least 25 people and injuring 267 others.
Four firefighters were among the dead and the death toll was likely to rise.
The explosions sparked a massive inferno with flames shooting up to 15 storeys into the air that tore through the city’s Cianjhen district.
The blast shook buildings like there was an earthquake, toppling small shops and throwing cars flying into the air.
One street had been split along its length, swallowing six fire engines and other vehicles.
Officials said that the fires were believed caused by a leak of underground propene pipelines.
Propene is a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the cause and source of the leak were not immediately clear.
The National Fire Agency says on its website that one of the fires, along a 10-meter (33-foot) stretch of gas line, was still burning into midday Friday.
More than 1,100 had evacuated overnight.
Here are some photos of the aftermath….
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