Explosion Rocks Beijing Airport After Man Sets Off Homemade Bomb
Eyewitness accounts and photos were posted on Chinese social media accounts.
July 20, 2013— -- An explosion rocked the arrival area of Beijing's International Airport today after a man set off a homemade bomb, according to Chinese news media.
The explosion took place at about 6:24 p.m. local time, according to China's state run newscaster, CCTV, which cited witness reports.
Photos posted on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, showed a portion of terminal 3 filled with smoke after the blast.
Both domestic and international flights take off and land in terminal 3.
Chinese police have identified the alleged bomber as Ji Zhongxing. He was the only one injured in the blast.
Police said Zhongxing is a petitioner -- a citizen with a grievance against government officials or police -- though they did not say what Zhongxing's grievance is.
Less than two hours after the explosion, airport officials said operations are back to normal and no flights were affected.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.