Chinese man set alight in gas cylinder explosion

A man was set alight in China yesterday after he was forced to rush through an inferno caused by a powerful gas explosion that could have been much worse.

Yulin City resident "Chen" was left burned when several gas cylinders he had stockpiled in his home exploded, firing the door off its hinges like a cork from a bottle and shattering windows.

Security footage shows Chen sprinting through the intense, white-hot flames raging inside his shed and barrelling out onto the street with his clothes on fire.

The extent of Chen's injuries aren't known, but according to CCTV the attending fire crew rescued two others left trapped by the blaze.

As dramatic as the incident was, however, it could have been immeasurably worse – the firefighters reportedly removed a further 42 gas cylinders, mercifully intact, from the property.