Photo/Illutration A site of an explosion in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 30 (Rei Kishitsu)

KORIYAMA, Fukushima Prefecture—One man was killed and 18 others were injured when a morning explosion ripped apart a restaurant and damaged neighboring buildings and homes here on July 30.

Police received an emergency call from a neighbor a few minutes before 9 a.m. about the blast in the Shima district of Koriyama.

According to the Koriyama Fire Department, the explosion occurred at a chain restaurant called Shabushabu Onyasai Koriyama Shin-Sakuradori.

Pieces of the outer walls of the restaurant were scattered around the area, and only the framework of the building was left standing.

Fire officials said a gas was leaking from three of six propane canisters, which likely caught fire and caused the explosion.

Fukushima prefectural police said a man in his 40s was found dead under the rubble inside the restaurant. He is believed to be a construction worker. 

Among the 18 pedestrians and neighbors hurt by the explosion, two women in their 40s were seriously injured.

The blast also damaged or destroyed neighboring houses.

The Koriyama city government has set up an evacuation center at a nearby community center.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. said about 400 households in the area near the explosion site experienced power outages from around 10 a.m. As of 1 p.m., about 170 households still lacked electricity, the company said.

Colowide Co., a Yokohama-based company whose subsidiary operates the popular chain, said the Koriyama restaurant had been temporarily closed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant was expected to reopen on July 31, and renovation work was going on. The chain serves Japanese hot pot dishes. 

“We learned about the explosion because a TV station contacted us. We are unable to contact the employees there,” a company representative said.

The company issued a statement that said, “We are deeply sorry for victims of the explosion accident and people in the neighborhood.” 

Police have blocked entry within a 300-meter radius of the site. Officers have warned people to immediately leave the area because remaining gas could cause another explosion.

“There was sudden detonating sound and I felt the blast,” said a 32-year-old man who works nearby. “I thought it was an earthquake. Glass doors at a nearby bank were broken into pieces. It was scary.”

At a bank-related business center located about 60 meters southeast of the restaurant, all windows on the building’s fourth floor facing the restaurant were broken.

A representative of the bank’s main office in Koriyama said employees of the business center reported hearing a huge explosion after 9 a.m. and broken glass.

The representative said the bank has been checking if all employees are safe.

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