China: Explosion hits busy train station in Urumqi, Xinjiang

| WTF News |

An explosion has hit a major train station in Urumqi, the capital of western China’s Xinjiang region. Police have moved to evacuate people nearby according to Xinhua News. Recall, this is the same region as the March 1 knife attacks killing at least 30 and injuring over 100.

Bloomberg
An explosion occurred at about 7 p.m. today near the south railway station in Urumqi, the capital of western China’s Xinjiang region, prompting police to evacuate people nearby, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Ambulances and police cars were sent to the scene, the official news agency said, citing unidentified government officials. Xinhua said it didn’t yet have details about the blast or possible casualties.

Train services have been suspended at the station, Xinhua said, citing a policeman on the scene. Police have cordoned off all entrances to the station square and armed officers have been deployed, it said.

President Xi Jinping vowed to deploy a “strike-first” strategy against terrorism in Xinjiang, Xinhua reported earlier today, citing Xi’s comments during a trip to the region from April 27 to today.

Latest pictures revealed on Xinjiang Urumqi Railway Station blast (source: weibo) pic.twitter.com/s5DAOjvx6v

— Phoenix TV News UK (@PhoenixUKNews) April 30, 2014

UPDATE: Explosion at train station in China’s restive #Xinjiang; injuries reported http://t.co/xuw8T7f4VV pic.twitter.com/i5qTGwpu33

— ST Foreign Desk (@STForeignDesk) April 30, 2014