At least three men have been arrested in Wushenqi, Inner Mongolia , over a massive gunpowder blast that injured 20 people and damaged more than 560 commercial and residential buildings last week, mainland media reported.
But the main suspect in the case was still on the run, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The blast ripped through a private lot at the Galutu town truck terminal at about 2pm on October 30 as workers unloaded gunpowder from a truck, Xinhua said.
The truck reportedly came from Xian in Shaanxi province , and was licensed to carry cargo such as consumer goods and animal feed.
Municipal authorities alleged the suspects packed gunpowder into several bags originally meant to hold feed and consigned them for shipment on the truck.
The authorities confirmed the explosion was caused by workers smoking while unloading the cargo who were unaware of the nature of the shipment. The blast occurred seconds after the truck owners and workers threw cigarette butts near the bags.