An explosion outside a ­kindergarten in Jiangsu province in eastern China killed at least eight people and injured another 65, authorities said as they searched for the cause of the blast at 4:50 pm on Thursday.

An explosion outside a ­kindergarten in Jiangsu province in eastern China killed at least eight people and injured another 65, authorities said as they searched for the cause of the blast at 4:50 pm on Thursday.

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A photo posted online showing victims of the blast at the school in Feng county in Jiangsu province. Photo: JSTV

“At about 5pm, we heard a blast and thought it might have been a gas explosion at a nearby food vendor,” a local shop owner was quoted as saying by online news portal Sohu. “Many people might be dead.”

Another shop owner near the kindergarten, who declined to be identified, told the Post the blast happened a few minutes before the kindergarten opened its doors to allow parents inside to collect their children.

2.pngPhoto: JSTV

“The parents were all queueing up at the school gate at the time,” the shop owner said.

Because the explosion happened just outside the school grounds, the pupils waiting inside classrooms would probably have been shielded from injury, he said.

His daughter attended the school and was later taken home safely by her grandfather, he said.

Many cooked food stalls operated outside the kindergarten and a gas cylinder might have caused the explosion, he said.

3.pngPhoto: JSTV

A suspect has been identified in an explosion. Police were investigating the explosion as a criminal act and said they had “targeted” a suspect, Xinhua News Agency reported. It was unclear if the suspect was apprehended and no potential motive was provided.

4.jpgForensic and other experts work at the explosion site.  Photo: Xinhua
5.jpgMedical workers transfer an injured man to hospital after an explosion at the gate of a kindergarten in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province on June 15, 2017. At least seven people were killed and 66 others injured. Photo: Xinhua

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9.jpgForensic and other experts work at the explosion site.  Photo: Xinhua

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