At Least 15 Dead, Over 200 Injured in Taiwan Gas Explosion

A massive gas explosion in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei on Thursday evening left at least 15 dead and over 220 injured.

The explosion happened at around 9 p.m. on Thursday, when witnesses reported seeing a white fog rising from manholes in the streets of the port city of Kaohsiung, located in Taiwan's capital of Taipei. Before the explosion, witnesses reported seeing the smoke accompanied by a "gas-like smell."

The fog then ignited, causing multiple, large explosions on several streets in Kaohsiung, reportedly overturning cars and blasting pieces of concrete and rubble into the air. Some witnesses even reported seeing bodies strewn in the streets as a huge fireball formed over buildings. The explosion is suspected of being caused by a gas leak in the city's sewer system.

Photos taken by media outlets like Reuters show cars that had fallen into deep craters in the road caused by the blasts. Trees were also felled by the explosion and windows were shattered, and firefighters reportedly had difficulty finding survivors since the blast cut power to the area.

"I saw fire spurting, ripping off some covers of ditches. It was terrifying," one witness told the Xinhua, the China News Agency, on Thursday.

"At least 212 people who were injured have been rushed to hospitals for treatment," the National Fire Agency reported to BBC News.

One witness told the China News Agency that at first they thought the visible smoke was "poisonous gas" coming from the construction site for the city's new rapid transit system.