Explosion in fireworks factory in China; 11 peopel killed, 8 injured

Eleven people were killed and eight injured in an explosion in a fireworks factory in central China.

Photo: Explosion in fireworks factory in China; 11 peopel killed, 8 injured

The explosion late Wednesday afternoon reduced part of the Yangquan Xingtong Fireworks Co. workshop - on the rural outskirts of Yangquan city - to rubble, and it was not known whether others were buried in the blast, the government's Xinhua News Agency reported.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation, and a manager of the privately run fireworks company was being held for questioning, said an officer with the police station in Yangjiazhuang town, where the factory is located. The officer gave his surname, Li, but declined to further identify himself.

Accidents in Chinese factories are common, with thousands dying every year in part because of lax enforcement of safety rules. Fireworks factories, many of them illegal, are notoriously unsafe. The day before the Yangquan blast, 13 people died in an accident in a fireworks factory in the southern province of Hunan .