XI'AN, March 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The explosion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank killed two people and injured another two in a LNG station in this capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province Monday morning, local sources said Tuesday.

    The explosion happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday when many peoplewere changing their LNG tanks in the station. LNG stored in tanks is used in some Chinese localities as an energy source.

    A station staff and a 49-year-old customer at the station were killed at the site. The accident also injured two other people, one of whom lost his legs. No other information about the four victims was available at press time.

    The explosion did not set the station and another nearby station on fire.

    The cause of the explosion is under investigation. An engineer from the Shaanxi Provincial Thunder and Static Electricity Prevention Center (TSEPC) said an operation malfunction might be to blame.

    The explosion-hit station failed a TSEPC security test a week ago and two similar explosions took place in the station in August2002 and December 2003 with no casualties. Enditem