According to preliminary investigations, the fire was caused by a 40-year-old driver surnamed Chen who was smoking a cigarette inside the vehicle, the Shanghai public security bureau said on its official Weibo feed. The Shanghai government said in a short statement the vehicle hit the pedestrians on a road running next to People’s Square, injuring 18 people, three of them seriously. A Shanghai-based Starbucks spokesman told Reuters the store was not damaged and its customers and employees were safe. Some bystanders tried to break the window of the vehicle and drag out the six people in the vehicle, including the driver, The Paper reported in a story later reposted by the official People’s Daily newspaper. Other witnesses told the news outlet that there were gas cylinders in the vehicle.

Source: bd News24 February 02, 2018 04:41 UTC