CHONGQING - Authorities in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing said that the blast that ripped through a restaurant and injured 29 people on Friday was caused by a gas leak.

The blast happened at 3:27 pm at the "007" restaurant in Fengdu County, the county government said in a statement Saturday.

An initial probe showed that the explosion was an accident triggered by a natural gas leak and was not man-made, it said.

The wounded people are still in hospital for treatment, among whom two suffered severe injuries.