At least 16 people died and 43 were injured Sunday in a factory explosion in eastern China's Anhui province, a police source and state media said. The explosion occurred at 03:17 am (1917 GMT) in the workshops of a private factory that produces and processes quartz sand in the district of Fengyang, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities.
"At the moment we have 16 dead confirmed," a local policeman, who declined to give his name, told AFP. "It happened in a mining area. We don't know what caused the blast."
Five tonnes of explosives stored illegally in the factory could have been the source of the explosion, according to the semi-official China News agency. Of the 43 injured, one is in a serious condition, local officials said.
The majority of the victims were factory workers but local residents in nearby homes were also wounded, according to media reports. Homes in the street leading to the factory were seriously damaged by the explosion, China News said.
China's work safety record is notorious and thousands of people die every year in mines, factories and on construction sites, according to official sources.
Official figures show that more than 3,200 workers died in mines last year in China, with accidents regularly attributed to the illegal storage of explosives.
Independent observers, however, say the actual figure could be much higher, as many accidents are covered up.