Three people were killed as gas pipeline exploded in a residential area on Saturday (March 25) in northern China's Inner Mongolia, state media reported.

State broadcaster CCTV put out amateur footage showing the destroyed buildings, saying that one of the structure collapsed completely in Xiangyang community.

The blast happened at around 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), leaving four people severely injured and 21 with minor injuries, it added.

Rescue operation and investigation are now underway, CCTV reported.