Blast near Indian, US embassies in Beijing

An explosion has reportedly occurred outside the US embassy in Beijing. The Indian embassy is located close by. Photos posted on Twitter showed a large amount of smoke and what appeared to be police vehicles surrounding the vast structure in northeastern Beijing on Thursday afternoon.Police did not immediately respond to comments on the incident.The embassies are in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. More details are awaited. China and the US are in the middle of a trade dispute, but America remains a hugely popular destination for travel, education and immigration for Chinese.