Blasts at 2 Chinese Internet Cafes Kill 2

Investigators from the Fire Department search in the ruins of an internet cafe following an explosion which left two people dead, in Hefei, in central China's Anhui province, Friday, May 5, 2006. Police were investigating the cause of explosions at two Internet cafes in the city which left at least two people dead and four injured. (AP Photo/EyePress) (AP)

BEIJING -- Explosions rocked two Internet cafes in central China, killing two people, injuring four and leaving the premises spattered with blood and broken glass, a local official and state media said Saturday.

Authorities refused to say if bombs were involved in the blasts, which occurred Friday night about 10 minutes apart at two cafes within about 33 feet of each other in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province. No motive was apparent for an attack on the premises.

Such incidents are rare in China, although explosives are widely available and reports of their use in criminal acts have risen in recent years.

"The casualties include two dead and four injured people," said a man who answered the telephone at the Hefei city government office. He refused to give his name or any other details.

"This is a serious matter and the cause is still being investigated," he said.

Chinese local government officials frequently refuse to identify themselves to reporters because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

China has the second largest Internet population after the United States, with more than 100 million users. Even the smallest towns have cybercafes that are often packed with young people chatting online or playing games.

An officer at the public security bureau in Hefei who gave only his surname, Li, said it "wasn't clear" if explosives had been detonated.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Hefei First Aid Center, where the injured were taken, would not release details on them.

The Ju Xing and Hao Yu Internet cafes are on Meiling Avenue, one of Hefei's main streets, the state-run Anhui Daily newspaper said on its Web site.

The blasts drew hundreds of onlookers to the site, it said. The official Xinhua News Agency said they happened about 9:30 p.m.

A woman who was walking past Ju Xing at the time of the explosion said she saw glass and cement spray from the cybercafe, according to Anhui Daily.