Update | One injured as explosion hits Xining airport car park in Qinghai
An explosion occurred in the car park of Xining's main airport today, injuring one person, according to the authorities.
An explosion rocked the car park of Xining’s main airport today, state media reported. One person was injured by shrapnel, according to the authorities.
Police and bomb experts rushed to the scene within minutes of the blast and cordoned off the area around the busy Caojiapu (variably spelled as Caojiabao) airport.
One cleaner was hit when the object detonated in the lot just outside the terminal, the China West Airport Group said in a press statement at 4pm.
According to Chinanews.com, the staff was hit by a piece of glass and was sent to hospital.
Airport operations were not affected, the airport authority said. Cars in the parking lot were moved to other areas to clear the scene.
The Qinghai public security bureau and armed police are now conducting further investigation.
The explosives were concealed in a rubbish bin at the corner of the car park, according to the China Youth Daily.
A person surnamed Bao working for the public security bureau of Haidong prefecture near Xining told the South China Morning Post that the bureau’s command centre were not informed of the blast as yet, but that they would be sending staff to the scene.
"Airport police, anti-terror police, SWAT and paramilitary [officers] have cordoned off the site and are doing further investigation,” Bao said.
The Caojiapu airport is the busiest airport in the Tibet Plateau region. According to the airport’s figures, it handles four million trips a day.
Earlier in June, the airport held an emergency rescue drill – the largest held in the past 10 years – involving firefighters, medical emergency response teams as well as runway and airport maintenance teams.
Clearing explosives was part of the drill.
Additional reporting by Kathy Gao and Patrick Boehler
