Three students killed in blast at China university lab

An explosion ripped through a Chinese university laboratory here on Wednesday, killing at least three students, the city's fire department said.

The explosion happened around 9:30am local time at the Beijing Jiaotong University in the western part of the city during a chemistry experiment, state television CGTN reported.

Three students, who were doing an experiment on landfill leachate wastewater treatment in the lab, were killed in the accident, the fire department said in a statement.

Videos of the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke gushing out of the building in the university campus.

About 30 fire engines were sent to the scene and took nearly an hour to get the blaze under control, the authorities said, adding that investigation is underway to find the cause of the accident, the statement said.