AP PHOTOS: City streets destroyed in Taiwan blasts

The Associated Press

City streets destroyed, transformed into trenches strewn with dirt, ripped pieces of pipe and jagged blocks of concrete. Broken fire trucks turned upside down, twisted soot-covered cars and motorcycles, ripped advertising signs.

The site of underground gas explosions in Taiwan’s second-largest city is a scene of destruction. The blasts hit a densely populated district where petrochemical companies operate pipelines in the city of Kaohsiung. The streets were busier than normal because people were visiting a nearby night market. Firefighters who went to investigate the early reports of a gas leak were among the dead and injured.

The blasts affected an area of 2 to 3 square kilometers.

Here is a gallery of photos from the scene.

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Follow AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: http://apne.ws/1ox8vgG

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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