City streets destroyed, transformed into trenches strewn with dirt, ripped pieces of pipe and jagged blocks of concrete. Broken fire trucks turned upside down, twisted soot-covered cars and motorcycles, ripped advertising signs.
The site of underground gas explosions in Taiwan's second-largest city is a scene of destruction. The blasts hit a densely populated district where petrochemical companies operate pipelines in the city of Kaohsiung. Firefighters who went to investigate the early reports of a gas leak were among the dead and injured.
The blasts affected an area of two to three square kilometers, much of it sealed off, and authorities were trying to prevent further explosions.
Here is a gallery of photos from the scene.
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