Chinese gas pipe explosion kills eight

A natural gas pipeline has exploded in southwest China, killing at least eight people and injuring another 35, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The pipeline, operated by the state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in the town of Shazi in Guizhou province, sprang a leak after it was crushed by a landslide triggered by heavy rains, Xinhua reported.

It blew up around 10.00am on Sunday local time. Emergency workers put out the blaze and evacuated residents, Xinhua said, citing rescuers.

Video shows flames and clouds of billowing black smoke towering high above the buildings in the moments after the pipe exploded.

Terrified bystanders can be seen running away from the blaze across a bridge.

Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety standards are often lax.

Last year a pipeline explosion at a power station in central China killed at least 21 people.

In 2015, giant blasts killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin, causing over $1 billion in damage and sparking widespread anger over a perceived lack of transparency by officials about the accident's causes and environmental impact.

A government inquiry into the Tianjin accident released in February 2016 recommended 123 people be punished.