Man injures self in blast outside US embassy

A man was hospitalized after he detonated a firecracker-like device in an intersection near the United States embassy in Beijing around 1 pm on Thursday. The incident is an isolated one, Chinese authorities said.

The 26-year-old man, surnamed Jiang, is from Tongliao, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Beijing police said in a statement. His motive was unknown. He was treated for a hand injury. No one else was hurt, the police said.

Police found a lighter, debris of firecrackers and three unexploded firecrackers, each measuring 19.5 centimeters long and 3.5 cm in diameter.

Jiang's family told the police he had suffered from visual and auditory hallucinations since 2016 and had received treatment. Police checked his medical records and found he had been diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder.

On Thursday afternoon, blood and glass debris were still visible at the intersection of Tianze and Anjialou roads in Chaoyang district, which is about 30 meters from the embassy's entrance for visa applicants.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that the incident was isolated and that the police had dealt with it in a timely and appropriate manner.

The US embassy confirmed in a statement on Thursday that there had been an explosion at about 1 pm on the street outside the southeast corner of the compound. The police immediately responded, and there was no damage to embassy property, it said.

Visa services at the embassy were temporarily affected but soon resumed, according to a visa applicant surnamed Li, who had been standing in line outside the compound for a scheduled interview at 1:15 pm.

"I was waiting to go inside the embassy when I heard a loud bang behind me. It sounded like someone lit up a firecracker. Then I noticed the smoke rising," Li said.

Yang Zekun, Mo Jingxi and Zhou Jin contributed to this story.