US embassy bomb blast in Beijing ‘just fireworks’

A bomb blast near the US embassy in Beijing yesterday that led to panic was just a “firework device”, said police.

The lone suspect, a 26-year-old man from China’s Inner Mongolia region, injured his hand when the low-grade “bomb” went off and he was taken to hospital, said police. No other people were injured and there was no damage to embassy property.

Online videos showed smoke close to where people line up outside the compound for visa appointments.