DEVELOPING STORY: The death toll is now 24, and around 270 injured, in a series of gas explosions in Taiwan's southern city Kaohshiung late Thursday, according to Chinese media reports.

The initial blast came before midnight from a possible leak in the city's gas pipeline that is built along the sewage system.

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Residents said they first noticed smoke with a "gas-like smell" coming out of the drains, before the huge explosion.

People were roused from their sleep by the strong blast that some mistook for an earthquake.

Immediately after, a series of explosions ripped through the gas system, causing fires in scattered areas of the Chianjen district in Kaohshiung.

Reuters pictures showed upturned cars and motorcycles lying on the road, and paved roads ripped open by the force of the blasts. The pictures also showed the body of a child among the rubble.

"The explosions were like thunder and the road in front of my shop ripped open. It was like an earthquake," Taiwan's Central News Agency quoted an eyewitness as saying.

Residents used makeshift stretchers to carry the injured as sirens blared and ambulances rushed to look for more wounded.

Taiwanese TV showed firefighters in yellow overalls removing bodies from damaged buildings in the area.

Kaohshiung Mayor Chen Chu earlier put the death toll at 15 but the National Fire Agency put it later at 20 and more than 270 injured, saying that the number of casualties is expected to rise. Several among the injured are in critical condition. Among the dead were four fighters who responded early after the initial explosion.

It was not clear what caused the initial leak, nor why it resulted to the series of explosions. Cooking gas is supplied by underground pipes in most of Taiwan's major cities. The fire agency started receiving calls about gas leaks in the district, but it took only seconds before the series of explosions started. 

TagsKaohshiung, Taiwan, Gas Explosion