Two police injured in China restaurant blast: state media

BEIJING: Two Chinese policemen were injured Sunday in a blast at a popular fast-food chain, state media reported, in an incident authorities say was an act of retaliation.

According to China's official Xinhua news agency, an anonymous caller telephoned Dico's restaurant in Anda City in northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Sunday morning and said that there would be an explosion in about five minutes' time.

Police rushed to the scene and were evacuating the building when the blast took place. The two policemen were slightly injured, Xinhua said.

No deaths were reported.

Photos published online by Xinhua showed huge flames and plumes of black smoke engulfing the restaurant.

Firefighters doused the sprawling two-storey establishment with water, as several hundred pedestrians gathered on the street to watch, the photos showed.

Police are investigating the case and suspect that it was an act of revenge, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, offering no further details.