Blast rips through shopping mall in China

A blast ripped through a shopping mall in Luzhou city in southwest China's Sichuan province Thursday night, authorities said.

It is not immediately known whether the blast has caused any casualties. firefighters and ambulances have already rushed to the scene, Xinhua reported.

Photos posted on the Twitter-like service Sina weibo show a person being carried on a stretcher, smoke billowing from a building and a section of road littered with shattered glass.

The explosion has caused a nearby bus station to collapse. Witnesses said at least two cabs were damaged.