More than 40 people have been injured after a disgruntled former employee ignited a petrol bomb at a bank in a Tibetan-inhabited region of northwest China, local authorities say.
The attack in Tianzhu county at 8am (1000 AEST) caused a fire, according to a statement issued by the county government. A government official and firefighters in the county seat of Huazangsi township confirmed the blast, but said they were unaware of the circumstances at the scene.
The official Xinhua news agency had initially said the blast caused "significant deaths and injuries," but later issued a report saying the fire had led to many injuries but no deaths.
The county government said in its statement that 19 people were seriously injured.
According to the official People's Daily website, a local television reporter said the disgruntled employee had been fired from the bank.
The suspected bomber, a man, had escaped, it added. About a third of Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County's residents are ethnic Tibetans, but the government statement said the former employee belonged to the majority Han ethnic group.
A local tourist agent near the scene of the incident said that it was unlikely the bombing was related to the local Tibetan population.
"I have not heard anything about this being linked to ethnic Tibetan problems," the tourist agent, a Han Chinese who declined to be named, said.
"It could have be due to a dispute at the bank." Fire engines rushed to the scene early on Friday morning, but by midday the fire had been put out, she said.
Phones at the Tianzhu People's Hospital, where the injured were reportedly taken, went unanswered.
Xinhua quoted a witness as saying he saw people who had suffered serious burns being carried away on stretchers.
Others jumped from the building's fourth floor, where bank employees were meeting, the witness said.
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