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)

"When we heard the first explosion, we thought firecrackers were being set off," an unnamed resident was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "The second one went off about 15 minutes later. It was very loud. It sounded like a bomb exploded."

Another resident said panicked customers ran out after the first explosion. A woman in her 20s covered with blood screamed "What's happening?" before collapsing, the newspaper said. She was later helped away by passers-by.

Inside Ju Xing, "blood, glass and cement covered the floor," the report said.

News photos showed gloved officers sifting through the rubble, which included overturned chairs, computers, chunks of concrete and shards of blue glass. Iron bars on the windows _ a common security feature in Internet cafes _ had been twisted by the explosions and pipes were exposed in the ceiling.

Ju Xing had about 70 to 80 computers while Yu Hao had about seven small rooms that could accommodate 10 people each, Anhui Daily said.

The second explosion happened in one of the small rooms, leaving a 3.3 foot-wide crack in the ceiling, it said.

A customer, identified only by his surname Liu, said he was using a computer in Ju Xing when he heard a loud bang and felt pain in his face.

He said the inside of the room "was like a whirlwind," with glass and cement flying everywhere.