Explosion Outside US Embassy In Beijing [Photos, Videos]

Update: 3:40 a.m. EDT - The suspect who reportedly tried to unsuccessfully hurl a homemade explosive device over the fence at the United States embassy in Beijing was identified as 26-year-old Jiang Moumou. He was apprehended by the police following the blast, local news outlet HongKongFP reported.​

Jiang was the only one injured in the explosion. He was rushed to the hospital and according to the police, his injuries were not life-threatening.

Law enforcement officers characterized the explosive device as “firecracker-like” and confirmed it was detonated at the intersection of Tianze Lu and Anjialou Lu, Beijing. An embassy spokesperson told HKFP in a statement regarding the incident: “There was an explosion at approximately at 1 p.m. today [1 a.m. EDT Thursday] in the public space off the South East corner of the Embassy compound.”

Update: 3:20 a.m. EDT - A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Beijing told CNN the unidentified man who tried to detonate an explosive device outside the building compound was the only one who was injured. Word is still pending on the exact condition of the individual.

India’s Envoy to Beijing, Ambassador Gautam Bambawle, who was present inside the Indian embassy located next to the U.S. embassy, confirmed that no one inside his building was injured.

“We heard the blast. We are just next door. There are no fatalities. It was a low intensity blast. All Indians are safe," he told Indian news channel Republic TV.

While almost every international news media characterized the incident as a blast, the Chinese state media refused to do so. Also, Chinese police were trying to stop reporters from filming in the area where the incident took place, according to a BBC journalist.

Update: 2:45 a.m. EDT: There were unconfirmed reports of an unidentified man trying to hurl a self-made bomb over the fence and into the United States embassy moments before the blast. The bomb reportedly detonated around him, damaging a police vehicle nearby. It is not clear if the embassy sustained any structural damage due to the explosion.

One of the witnesses said there were seven to eight vehicles at the scene when the incendiary device went off at 1 p.m. local time Thursday (1 a.m. EDT). The blast also took place in an area where a number of Chinese citizens line up each day to apply for U.S. visas.

Update: 2:22 a.m. EDT - According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the Chinese police were investigating the vehicle outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing for alleged links to the blast. Although law enforcement personnel could be seen surrounding a white-colored car in one of the videos from the aftermath of the explosion, it is not clear if that was the vehicle being investigated.

Another report by the Global Times said witnesses saw a woman being dragged away by the police, who allegedly sprayed gasoline on herself in a self-immolation attempt outside the embassy around 11 a.m. local time Thursday (11 p.m. EDT Wednesday), which was shortly before the explosion.

It was not clear whether the woman had any connection to the blast. There were no confirmed reports of any casualties.

Original story:

There were unconfirmed reports of an explosion outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing late Wednesday night.

Video clips circulating on Twitter showed the aftermath of the explosion where a road is seen partially blocked by police, who cordoned off a section with a vehicle. Smoke was seen enveloping a gated compound where a crowd of eyewitnesses gathered.

According to Mirror, members of the military were seen standing guard around the cordoned area. Neither Chinese nor U.S. officials have commented on the incident. There were no other details available at this moment.

Apart from the U.S. embassy, the area where the blast happened also houses the embassies of India, Israel and North Korea.

This is a developing story.