Death toll climbs to 10 in NW China restaurant blast

The death toll from an explosion that ripped through a restaurant on Monday in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, has risen to 10 following the death of a hospitalized victim, local authorities said on Thursday. Thirty-four people had been injured in the blast. One of the injured was discharged from a local hospital, and now 32 others remain hospitalized, including two victims in critical condition, according to officials from the provincial health department. Most of the hospitalized victims are women under the age of 30. Their injuries include fractured bones and facial cuts caused by shattered glass, according to the officials. "We will try our best to treat their injuries," said Huang Lixun, deputy chief of the provincial health department. The 7:30 a.m. blast occurred on the first floor of the Jiatian International Mansion, a commercial building in the Gaoxin district. Most of the victims were pedestrians walking by the building, including children on their way to school. The building's electricity, water and heat have been reactivated, although natural gas lines remain cut off.