Fireworks Blast Death Toll Rises to 27The death toll of an explosion at a firecracker factory in east China's Jiangxi province rose to 27 by 10:20 Saturday evening.Police confirmed that one of the dead was the owner of the factory Huang Lexiang. Police said that the explosion may have been caused by a spark as Huang's daughter rubbed a container of explosives against a wall. Her daughter was also killed. The explosion completely destroyed the 60-meter-long five- storey factory building. Police and rescuers had to use three excavators to clean up the wreckage. Police are still investigating the exact cause of the explosion. The explosion happened around 14:50 on Wednesday. Another 26 were injured, including two who are in a critical condition. Police said that Huang illegally transported two tons of explosive materials from Inner Mongolia in north China to his factory in Shangli county in Jiangxi province. The explosion took place as he and his daughter unloaded the explosives. Another firecracker explosion killed 33 in the same county on March 11. |
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