One person was killed and another eight were injured when an explosion ripped through a residential building in Zuojiazhuang in the Chaoyang district of Beijing.

The blast occurred at  5: 30 a.m. Friday. The building appears to have been under construction or refurbishment.

Photos taken at the scene show the building's windows blown out and a large amount of debris scattered on the street below. The shock wave was so powerful it knocked out windows of buildings across the street and those of cars in the street. A line of trees and scaffolding ringing the site caught much of the heavy material as they fell.

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Even as a crowd of onlookers quickly descended on the blast zone, local fire and rescue teams quickly appeared on-site to cordon off the area and help evacuate the structure. Canine search teams were also present.

Due to the early time of the blast, several residents were still asleep in their beds and had to rush out into the street in their underwear or wrapped in sheets in the confusion. The explosion seemed to have occurred at several levels of the building. Damage extends to at least the third floor, and the businesses at street level had their storefronts and security grates blown outward into the street.

The investigation into the cause is underway; officials with the Beijing Fire Department have not yet announced theories as to what caused the blast. The injured were treated at local medical facilities.

Photos posted on Sina Weibo showed the building to be largely intact, with no apparent fire damage. Authorities are worried, however, about the structural integrity of the scaffolding encasing the building, which had collapsed in certain sections. 

Earlier this month, a serious of explosions linked to faulty natural gas lines caused severe damage in Taiwan, with several deaths and injuries reported.