Beijing:
At least four people have been confirmed dead and 35 others injured after a fire triggered by a natural gas explosion broke out on Thursday evening in a shopping mall in China's Sichuan province, Xinhua reported.
The explosion occurred around 10:40 p.m. at the Mo'erma shopping mall in Luzhou city, and flames soon spread to the ground and second floors, sources with the municipal government said.
Photos posted on the Twitter-like service Sina weibo show injured being rushed to hospital, smoke billowing from a building and a section of road littered with shattered glass.
A search and rescue operation is still under way.