BEIJING: A tanker transporting liquefied natural gas caught fire and exploded on an expressway in Taizhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province on Saturday afternoon.

The truck had the tank blast off, hit a nearby workshop causing a second explosion, media reports said.

As of Sunday, the accident has left 18 people dead and 166 others injured; search and rescue operations are underway and all the injured have been hospitalized.

In a statement, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said some houses and factories collapsed when the truck blasted after going off the road on Shenyang–Haikou expressway near the Wenling city.

Some people reportedly were trapped under the debris after the explosion.

More than 400 firefighters and many fire trucks were dispatched to the area where search and rescue operations are ongoing.

(With inputs from agencies)