Explosion outside US embassy in Beijing: reports

Video emerges of a woman being dragged off by plainclothes police after sharing explosion footage with journalists.

Smoke rises in the vicinity of the US Embassy in Beijing.

Video has emerged on social media showing a woman being dragged off by apparent plainclothes police in China, after the woman shared footage of the US Embassy explosion with journalists.

“I turn my back for sec and next thing I know the poor woman has been dragged across the street away from the journos by plainclothes men,” tweeted journalist Rebecca Davis.

Have a taste of Chinese rule of law at Beijing US embassy explosion site! Scene 1: A bystander (woman w flower print shirt @ far right) kindly decided to share images and video - apparently passed to her by a friend - w a scrum of journalists via WeChat pic.twitter.com/EnfBkuMcoy

— Becky Davis (@rebeccaludavis) July 26, 2018

Scene 3: The abduction.
“Why? What has she done wrong?” I ask.
“This is a family matter!” says green shirt.
It gets loud but I basically stuck my head in the car so could hear her loud and clear: “I do not know that man. I didn’t do anything! I was just a bystander!” pic.twitter.com/1974flP64s

— Becky Davis (@rebeccaludavis) July 26, 2018

Cop 2 also doesn’t know why she was taken.
Cop 3: “It’s not convenient now for us to do interviews. We don’t know. Please leave - there are too many people here.”

— Becky Davis (@rebeccaludavis) July 26, 2018

Earlier, Chinese police say the explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing was caused by a ”suspected firecracker” wielded by a 26-year-old man who hurt only himself.

Video clips posted online showed smoke in the air outside the diplomatic compound in the Chinese capital and security personnel rushing in the background, with witnesses saying an explosion had occurred.

The police statement identified the man only by his surname, Jiang, and said he was from the city of Tongliao in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. No other injuries were reported.

CNN reported that an explosive device was detonated in a public area at the US embassy in the Chaoyang District, according to a US embassy spokesperson.

The Washington Post reported similar comments from a US Embassy Spokesperson.

“There was one individual who detonated a bomb. Other than the bomber, there were no injuries. Local police responded,” the US embassy spokesperson told The Washington Post.

The state-run Global Times reports police took away a woman who sprayed herself with gasoline in a suspected to be a self-immolation attempt outside the embassy.

“It is not proved yet the incident is related to an alleged explosion around the US embassy in Beijing later,” The Global Times tweeted of the suspected self-immolation attempt.

Police did not immediately respond to comments on the incident.

The location appears to be near where Chinese citizens typically line up to enter the US embassy for visa interviews.

Eva Dou, a China politics correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, reports visa applicants have since returned to queue up outside the building.

这是美国大使馆现场吗？ pic.twitter.com/dI8j9FVIcj

— tbn (@tanboniu) July 26, 2018

Explosion at the US Embassy in Beijing. WTF? pic.twitter.com/yj5t1ZxaTA

— Wei (@wei_Calgary) July 26, 2018

Suspected self-immolation near U.S. Embassy in China: state media https://t.co/aH8731JXMh pic.twitter.com/sKhRh5pGEK

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 26, 2018

just now. Large explosion just minutes ago at either the US or Indian embassy here in Beijing.https://t.co/1QAgZxBE7X

— Xah Lee (@xah_lee) July 26, 2018

Witnesses say one person injured in explosion outside US embassy in Beijing. Visa applicants have returned to queue outside the embassy pic.twitter.com/12F8wWlrm6

— Eva Dou (@evadou) July 26, 2018

However, the details of the incident were not immediately clear as witness reports conflicted.

The US Embassy declined comment and Chinese security forces could not immediately be reached.

The diplomatic area where the incident took place is on the outskirts of Beijing and home to several embassies, including those of the United States, India and Israel

China and the US are in the middle of a trade dispute, but America remains a hugely popular destination for travel, education and immigration for Chinese.

AP