An explosion blasted inside the busy Beijing International Airport tonight, according to reports in China. There were no details on the number of injuries or possible fatalities caused by the explosion.
Initial reports stated that the explosion occurred at the Terminal 3 arrival area of the airport. The suspect was a man on a wheelchair, who ignited a bomb which triggered the blast. Passengers and staff of the Beijing International Airport ran in fear out of the smoke covered area.
Xinhua, a news agency run by China, confirmed the explosion which occurred around 6:30 pm, China time.
Photos or the wheelchair bound man surface on the internet. The man is seen waving his hands with a package on his right hand. The picture spread on China's social networking site, Weibo.
The country's airports were keys to China's bustling aviation industry for the past three years. In 2010, China's largest airports, including the Beijing International, had a net profit of US$567 million combined. The accident sparked issues of lax security, and analysts foresee a decline in the aviation market in general, citing aviation-related incidents as of late.
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