Building collapse in eastern China kills at least 11

NANJING, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- At least eleven people were killed after a building collapsed in eastern China on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The three-story building collapsed on Tuesday morning at around 7:25 a.m. local time in Suzhou City, which is located in China's Jiangsu Province following an explosion.

According to the Suzhou municipal government, an explosion of the staff canteen on the first floor caused the accident, confirming that eleven people who had been taken to a local hospital died, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In its statement, municipal authorities said nine others were still hospitalized and receiving medical treatment.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the blast was caused by a gas leak in the office building, which belonged to a liquefied gas sales branch of the Suzhou Gas Group Co. Ltd.

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