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. The streets were busier than normal because people were visiting a nearby night market. Firefighters who went to investigate the early reports of a gas leak were among the dead and injured.

The blasts affected an area of 2 to 3 square kilometers.

Here is a gallery of photos from the scene.

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