A huge explosion was recorded in a residential area of a major Chinese city on Wednesday, according to local reports. Firefighters were called to the scene of the blast in the Xiaodian district of Taiyuan, in north-central China, at around 11am local time (4am BST). A fire triggered by the explosion was extinguished by 3pm local time, acording to the Xinhua News Agency, with 17 people injured and four in critical condition.

Videos appearing to show the aftermath of the blast depicted scenes of chaos as black smoke poured out of apartment blocks and injured residents ran from the scene. Shattered windows and a number of vehicles on fire could also be seen in the footage. Authorities have not released an official statement on the cause of the explosion.

China's state broadcaster CCTV also reported that the explosion had occurred in a residential area of the city, causing glass to shatter and smoke to pour out of nearby buildings.

It comes just hours after a restaurant fire in northeastern China killed 22 people on April 29, in what President Xi Jinping described as "a deeply sobering lesson", the cause of which has not yet been confirmed.

The fire broke out in a residential part of Liaoning Province's Liaoyang City, CCTV said, with three people also injured in the blaze.

Authorities said 22 firetrucks and 85 firefighters were dispatched to the scene in Liaoyang, with other residents evacuated from nearby buildings.

Footage circulated online of Tuesday's incident showed flames engulfing large buildings and a number of parked vehicles, with black smoke billowing out of the frame and people being treated by paramedics on stretchers.

20 people were also killed in a fire that broke out at a nursing home in the northern province of Hebei earlier in April, according to Reuters.