Graphic footage shows deadly explosion

Graphic dashcam footage has emerged of the moment a gas explosion appeared to engulf two firefighters on a Taiwanese street on Thursday.

The video, which was filmed from a parked car and published on video-sharing website LiveLeak, shows the emergency crew members working on leaking pipes beneath the road.

Without warning a blast lifts up the road and sends a massive mushroom cloud of fire towards the camera.

Moments later a man wearing high-visibility clothing can be seen crawling near an overturned vehicle.

It is not known whether the pair survived the explosion, one of a series of powerful blasts that rocked the city's Cianjhen district, killing at least 25 people and injuring up to 267.

The explosions sparked massive fires that ran for hundreds of metres down a major thoroughfare.

The blasts were believed to have been triggered by gas leaking from underground pipelines.

One street had been ripped along its length, swallowing several fire engines and other vehicles, while some houses had their roofs blown off.

Source: LiveLeak, AFP

Authors: Chloe Ross, Emily McPherson, Approving editor: Martin Zavan