The Chinese government on Wednesday evening announced that an explosion had hit a railway station in Urumqi, the capital of China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang.

It said there were no immediate reports of casualties and the cause of the explosion yet to be determined while the police and ambulances had embarked on rescue operations at the station.
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The blast occurred as President Xi Jinping was wrapping up his four-day inspection tour of Xinjiang.

Jinping vowed to oppose religious extremism and use “strike first’” policy against terrorism in Xinjiang.

Reports said the blast took place at about 7 pm at the station’s main exit and that the police were still evacuating people from nearby areas after doing same in the square in front of the station.