SAPPORO, Japan (FOX NEWS) — More than 40 people were reported injured after an explosion took place at a restaurant in Japan on Sunday, officials said.
The blast took place around 8:30 p.m. in Sapporo, the capital of the mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, located about 700 miles north of Tokyo.
The blast sent debris into area streets, and a large plume of smoke rose from the scene.
しょうた@shotacamera平岸三条八丁目でガス爆発による火災。火の勢い物凄く、消防車や救急車多数。
Police officers were keeping people from approaching the damaged building out of fear of additional blasts, the Japan Times reported.
“I heard a ‘bang,’ which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken,” a man who lives nearby told the news outlet.
Additional details about the cause of the blast and extent of those injured were not immediately known.
