Deadly explosions caused by a gas leak overnight killed at least 25 people and injured 257 in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, according to government officials.

Underground explosions in Taiwan's second-largest city triggered fires that ripped off manhole covers on roads and cratered large boulevards, local television footage showed. Roads exploded with flames, overturning cars and collapsing houses. Many streets were still littered with rubble and impassible by ambulances.

"Around midnight, there was a very strong blast. From my balcony, I saw a huge fireball that was at least 10 floors high. All the furniture at my home rattled a little bit, and it was very, very loud. Then I heard people screaming. Two to three minutes later, another blast occurred," said Johnson Shen, whose apartment is about 200 feet away from the blast area.

Economic Minister Chang Chia-juch said Friday that officials are still unable to determine what caused the blast, though an initial investigation indicated the leak could have occurred in an underground pipeline that transports propane, a highly flammable, nearly odorless petrochemical used for polyesters. Kaohsiung is one of Taiwan's centers of petrochemical production

But Mr. Shen said that when he was riding home on his motorcycle shortly before 9 p.m. local time, "there was already a very strong gas smell on the road. It smelt like the gas we use at home for cooking."

In a Friday video conference broadcast on local television, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu asked President Ma Ying-jeou to review the city's underground petrochemical pipeline system to avoid future accidents.
Underground explosions in Kaohsiung
© Zuma PressUnderground explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, caused deep craters in roads.
The situation now has been contained, the government's Emergency Operations Center said, and the fire department had cut the pipeline's gas supply shortly after the explosions.

The chance of further explosions is "extremely slim at the moment because all gas supply has been turned off," said Kaohsiung city spokesman Ting Yun-kung.

The center added that 111 of the injured were already discharged from hospitals, while at least two people were still missing. A photojournalist for Apple Daily, a popular Hong Kong newspaper, was injured near an explosion site while covering the incident, the paper said.
southern Kaohsiung gas explosion
© Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesGas explosions in southern Kaohsiung tear a road apart.
Some people said tearfully on local TV that their families or friends were likely buried in collapsed houses, though reports were unconfirmed. Four police and firefighters were among the dead, the center said. Earlier it had reported 270 people were injured.

The Kaohsiung government has set up its own emergency center. The Ministry of National Defense said it has deployed more than 1,600 military personnel to assist in the rescue operations.

Mr. Chang didn't identify the company that operates the pipeline in the area and said the investigation is continuing. A number of petrochemical companies scrambled Friday to distance themselves from the blast.

The government said the fire department was notified by residents of possible gas leaks at 8:46 p.m. local time Thursday. Residents said that they had smelled gas and seen smoke emerging from drains shortly before the explosion. Officials still aren't certain what caused the smell. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene immediately to assess the situation, according to a government official.
wounded gas explosion taiwan
© AFP/Getty ImagesResidents carry a wounded person from the scene of the explosion.
Multiple blasts began around midnight, affecting an area of two to three square kilometers, or less than two square miles. One video clip posted on YouTube shows what looks like a narrow residential street suddenly exploding down its length.

Local companies have pledged tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars to the rescue operation. Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwanese conglomerate, said it would donate NT$20 million (US$665,912) while Foxconn Technology Group, an important Apple Inc. supplier also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., pledged NT$10 million. Smartphone maker HTC Corp and its charity foundation together pledged NT$10 million and computer manufacturer Acer Inc. pledged NT$2 million, the companies said.
gas explosion fires taiwan
© Associated PressSome fires continue to burn after multiple explosions from the underground gas leak.
Flags throughout the island were ordered to fly at half-mast for the next three days and condolences have flooded social media, where people are forming volunteer groups to help distribute food and hygiene supplies.

The cause of the explosion and the owner of the leaky pipeline are still unknown. Government-owned refiner CPC Corp. said it doesn't own the pipeline. LCY Chemical Corp., a petrochemical maker, which local media reported as the owner of the pipeline, issued a statement that said its pipeline was more than 10 meters from the site of the blast and carried propane, which may not have the smell the residents reported.

The government said it is still too early to determine the cause of the explosion or where the gas leak began because the area is covered with rubble, impeding the research team from thoroughly surveying the grounds and examining the pipes. The complex web of pipes beneath the city makes it difficult to assess the types of pipes damaged and their ownership, the city's spokesman said.

Local brokerage First Financial Holding Co. said the explosion, the worst of this type in Taiwan's history, is unlikely to hit the electronics supply chain in the south. Many suppliers are located in the Kaohsiung Software Park, about 2 kilometers away from the blast area. Some may be hit by temporary outage of electricity and water supply, it said.

Explosions and fires, some caused by gas leaks, have hit petrochemical complexes in Taiwan in the past, though most were contained inside the compounds.

The blast is the second deadly disaster in Taiwan in two weeks. Last Wednesday, a TransAsia flight crashed in an outlying Taiwanese island and killed at least 48 aboard