TAIPEI: City officials in northeastern China apologized to local journalists after authorities were shown pushing them and trying to obstruct reporting from the site of a deadly explosion, in a rare acknowledgment of state aggression against members of the media.

The city of Sanhe in Hebei province issued a public apology on Thursday after authorities were shown harassing reporters from state-run China Central Television (CCTV) during a live broadcast near the site of a suspected gas leak explosion that killed at least seven people and injured 27 others on Wednesday.