Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The cause of the explosion in Sapporo is not yet known

A huge explosion and fire has hit a restaurant in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo.

Japanese police say 42 people were injured in the explosion, with one of them in a serious condition.

The cause of the explosion in the Toyohira district is not yet known. Some reports suggested a gas blast.

Images on social media initially showed flames rising from the area with debris all around, and later firefighters tackling collapsed buildings.

Police sealed off the area amid fears of more explosions.

More than 20 fire engines were reportedly deployed.

The emergency services were first alerted to the explosion at about 20:30 on Sunday (11:30 GMT).

Japanese broadcaster NHK said the area affected had both residential and dining establishments and was about 3km south-east of the city centre.

The Japan Times quoted one eyewitness as saying the explosion sounded like thunder.

Another eyewitness told NHK that the blast had broken the windows of the restaurant he was working in, and that there were "many injured people".

Officials warned that the number of injured could rise.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Officials warned that the number of injured could rise</s>A powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan late Sunday, injuring 42 people, starting fires that took hours to bring under control and leading several neighbouring buildings to collapse, officials and reports said.

[TOKYO] A powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan late Sunday, injuring 42 people, starting fires that took hours to bring under control and leading several neighbouring buildings to collapse, officials and reports said.

Images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air after the blast in the northern city of Sapporo.

The cause of the blast was still under investigation, police said. One witness reportedly said he had smelled gas after the explosion.

A police official for the Hokkaido region told AFP "there are 42 injuries" but no one was killed.

The Jiji Press agency said one of the injured was seriously hurt, suffering burns to his face, but none of the victims had life-threatening wounds.

Several children were reportedly among those hurt in the explosion, which hit in the city's Toyohira district.

"I heard a 'bang', which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken," a man in his 50s who lived nearby told The Japan Times.

The building that housed the restaurant was heavily damaged, as were other nearby businesses, including a real estate company, Jiji said.

National broadcaster NHK said it took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames, with dozens of vehicles mobilised to deal with the accident.

Police had initially warned of the possibility of secondary explosions, according to Kyodo, which described buildings collapsing following the incident around 8.30pm (1130 GMT).

The city government had opened at shelter to house dozens of people whose homes were damaged in the blast.</s>Images from the scene show large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air after the blast in the northern city of Sapporo

TOKYO, Japan – A powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan late Sunday, December 16, injuring 42 people and starting fires that took hours to bring under control and leading several neighboring buildings to collapse, officials and reports said.

Images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air after the blast in the northern city of Sapporo.

The cause of the blast was still under investigation, police said. One witness reportedly said he had smelled gas after the explosion.

A police official for the Hokkaido region told the Agence France-Presse "there are 42 injuries" but no one was killed.

The Jiji Press agency said one of the injured was seriously hurt, suffering burns to his face, but none of the victims had life-threatening wounds.

Several children were reportedly among those hurt in the explosion, which hit in the city's Toyohira district.

"I heard a 'bang,' which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken," a man in his 50s who lived nearby told The Japan Times.

The building that housed the restaurant was heavily damaged, as were other nearby businesses, including a real estate company, Jiji said.

National broadcaster NHK said it took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames, with dozens of vehicles mobilised to deal with the accident.

Police had initially warned of the possibility of secondary explosions, according to Kyodo, which described buildings collapsing following the incident around 8.30 pm (1130 GMT).

The city government had opened a shelter to house dozens of people whose homes were damaged in the blast. – Rappler.com</s>TOKYO — More than 40 people were injured in an explosion Sunday night at a Japanese restaurant in northern Japan, police said.

The explosion occurred in Sapporo, the capital city of Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, and caused nearby apartment buildings and houses to shake.

Police said 42 people were injured, most of them mildly, though one was in serious condition. They were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The cause of the explosion, which occurred at a two-story restaurant in Sapporo’s Toyohira district, is under investigation, police said, adding that they had no further details.

TV footage from Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed the restaurant in flames, with debris scattered on the ground.

The footage later showed gray smoke billowing from the restaurant as dozens of firefighters poured water onto the building, which was charred and nearly collapsing. Windows on an apartment building next door were broken, and cars parked outside were partially covered with debris that had fallen on them.

A witness told NHK that he smelled gas afterward. The broadcaster said the district office was to set up a shelter for neighbors of the restaurant to stay overnight so they could escape the smoke.</s>A powerful blast that ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan injured 42 people and caused serious damage to neighbouring buildings, forcing some residents into shelters, officials said.

The explosion in Sapporo on Sunday night started fires and caused the partial collapse of some surrounding buildings.

Images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air, and witnesses described hearing a terrifying boom.

The cause of the blast was still under investigation, police said. One witness reportedly said he had smelled gas after the explosion.

A police official for the Hokkaido region told AFP that despite the large number of injuries, there had been no fatalities.

The Jiji Press agency said one of those injured was seriously hurt, suffering burns to his face, but none of the victims had life-threatening wounds.

Several children were reportedly among those hurt in the explosion.

"I heard a 'bang,' which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken," a man in his 50s told The Japan Times.

"There was an enormous sound, 'bang', then when I looked up at the sky it was filled with plumes of smoke," an elderly woman said in footage on public broadcaster NHK.

The two-story wooden building that housed the restaurant, a real estate agency and a clinic was seriously damaged, a Sapporo fire department official told AFP.

The fire from the blast spread to neighbouring buildings, and debris blasted out by the explosion shattered the windows of nearby apartments and restaurants, according to local reports.

"We are investigating details about the damage together with police at the scene," the official said.

National broadcaster NHK said it took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames, with dozens of vehicles mobilised to deal with the accident.

A 26-year-old female employee at the restaurant jumped from the first floor and broke her leg as she tried to escape the fire, media reports said.

"I'm just relieved that she is alive," her sister, who rushed to the scene, told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

The blast happened around 8.30 pm (1130 GMT), and the city government opened a shelter to house dozens of people whose homes were damaged.

"The number of evacuees grew to about 60 people around midnight, but now there are 10 people still in the evacuation centre," Sapporo official Yasuhiro Ishizuka told AFP.

The explosion also caused a temporary black-out, with 250 buildings losing electricity, but power was later restored, he said.

Many small and medium-sized older buildings in Japan are built partly or entirely from wood and are vulnerable to fires.

In February, 11 people were killed in Sapporo after a fire broke out at a home for elderly people with financial difficulties.</s>Among the injured, a male employee of the real estate agency was said to in critical condition

Tokyo: At least 42 people were injured in an explosion near a pub in Japan's Sapporo city, police said. The blast occurred at around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday in the city's Toyohira Ward, causing a fire which was only extinguished hours later at 2.10 a.m., reports The Japan Times. According to the police, the suspected gas explosion caused wooden buildings housing the Japanese-style pub, a real estate agency and a clinic to collapse

Among the injured, a male employee of the real estate agency was said to in critical condition. The police suspect the explosion had occurred either at the pub or the real estate office. Windows of houses and restaurants near the site, which is located close to a subway station, were shattered. Many people who felt the blast said they thought it was an earthquake.

A gas safety centre official who visited the blast site said five tanks of propane gas weighing 50 kg each were installed outside of the pub, while two 20 kg tanks were located outside the real estate office. Gas pipes in the buildings were confirmed to be damaged after the explosion. Sapporo, with almost 2 million people, is on Japan's large northern island of Hokkaido.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever</s>TOKYO, Japan: An explosion at a restaurant in northern Japan injured 42 people late Sunday, police said, with the blast reportedly causing surrounding buildings to collapse.

Fires broke out following the incident in the northern city of Sapporo, Kyodo news agency said, and images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air.

A police official for the Hokkaido region told AFP "there are 42 injuries" but no one was killed.

They are still investigating the cause which "would take some time".

National broadcaster NHK said the flames were extinguished several hours after the fire broke out, with police and fire department officers still at the site.

Earlier police warned of secondary explosions, according to Kyodo, which described buildings collapsing following the incident around 8.30 pm (1130 GMT).</s>SAPPORO: A powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan late on Sunday (Dec 16), injuring 42 people, starting fires that took hours to bring under control and leading several neighbouring buildings to collapse.

Images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air after the blast in the city of Sapporo.

The cause of the blast was still under investigation, police said. One witness reportedly said he had smelled gas after the explosion.



A police official for the Hokkaido region told AFP "there are 42 injuries" but no one was killed. The Jiji Press agency said one of the injured was seriously hurt, suffering burns to his face, but none of the victims had life-threatening wounds.

Several children were reportedly among those hurt in the explosion, which hit in the city's Toyohira district.



The building that housed the restaurant was heavily damaged, as were other nearby businesses, including a real estate company, Jiji said.

National broadcaster NHK said it took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames, with dozens of vehicles mobilised to deal with the accident.



Police had initially warned of the possibility of secondary explosions, according to Kyodo, which described buildings collapsing following the incident around 8.30pm (7.30pm Singapore time).



The city government had opened a shelter to house dozens of people whose homes were damaged in the blast.



"I heard a 'bang', which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken," a man in his 50s who lived nearby told The Japan Times.



Other witnesses shared photos and videos of the incident on Twitter, showing the burning building and thick black smoke.</s>Firefighters putting out a blaze at the site of a restaurant that was razed by an explosion in Sapporo, northern Japan, yesterday.

At least 42 people were injured in the blast at the two-storey Umi Sakura izakaya bar in Hiragishi district. One of the victims was seriously injured.

Residents and diners at other establishments in the vicinity of the restaurant were ordered to evacuate from the area amid fears of further explosions.

The blast was suspected to be a gas explosion.

Photographs and video footage from the scene showed firefighters struggling to contain violent flames as emergency workers rescued restaurant employees and diners from the rubble of the 66-seat eatery, which was completely destroyed.

SEE WORLD: Over 40 hurt in blast at Hokkaido bar</s>A huge explosion and fire has hit a restaurant in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo.

Police say at least 41 people were injured in the explosion, with one of them in a serious condition.
A gas blast in a restaurant in Sapporo, Japan, injures 42 people.