XI'AN, Jan. 5 -- Three people were killed and 24 others injured in a coach explosion in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, local authorities said on Sunday.

The blast hit a coach around 6:40 p.m. on the Yingbin Street near the coach station in Pucheng County in the city of Weinan. The coach was bound from the provincial capital of Xi'an to the county, according to the local fire department.

As of 9:30 p.m., three people have been confirmed dead. The injured are being treated in a local hospital, according to the county government.

A probe into the cause of the blast is under way.