Van carrying gas canisters injures 18 in Shanghai crash
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SHANGHAI -- A minivan carrying gas canisters plowed into pedestrians near a prominent park in downtown Shanghai on Friday, injuring 18 people, local authorities reported.
Shanghai police said the crash was caused by a 40-year old man surnamed Chen who was smoking inside the van, accidentally igniting the gas he was transporting. Police appeared to dismiss fears the crash could have been an attack in the heart of the Chinese financial hub.
The driver and two other people suffered serious injuries. Chen works for a Shanghai metals company and had no criminal record but was now under suspicion of transporting dangerous materials, police said.
The minivan, registered in the southern province of Jiangxi, veered onto a sidewalk and burst into flames around 9 a.m. near People's Park, authorities said. The vast city center plaza is also home to the headquarters of the Shanghai municipal government, which oversees a metropolis of almost 25 million people that is widely regarded as China's most cosmopolitan city.
Videos on social media showed injured people lying on the pavement next to a Starbucks cafe and others pinned under the tires of the van. Firefighters were seen trying to put out a blaze inside the vehicle.
Friday's crash occurred just as British Prime Minister Theresa May was speaking at a business event in Shanghai. May's speech was at a forum in the Lujiazui district on the opposite side of the Huangpu River from People's Park.
