A gas facility exploded on Wednesday in the Chinese city of Nanjing, local media and an oil company official said.Pictures showed flames leaping from the site and towering over a nearby three-storey building, with a column of dark smoke rising into the sky. Xinhua news agency said there were some casualties, but gave no further details.

An official from state-owned oil giant Sinopec said the facility was a local liquefied petroleum gas plant. A nearby Sinopec petrol station was unaffected.LPG is butane or propane which is sold in bottles and commonly used as a convenient domestic fuel or used as a low-emission fuel for cars or buses. Courtesy:REUTERS