Rescue workers search at site after an explosion hit a town in Fugu county, Shaanxi province, China, October 24, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS
Beijing: A powerful blast at a prefabricated house in northwestern China killed at least 14 people and injured 147, state news agency (Xinhua) reported.
The explosion occurred in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province Monday afternoon, damaging dozens of buildings including the local hospital, Xinhua said.
An initial police investigation indicated that the blast was caused by illegally stored explosives. Authorities had detained the owner of the building and were searching for the tenant.
Eleven of the injured were in intensive care.
Pictures carried by state media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of low rise buildings, though searches for the incident on Chinese social media were blocked on Tuesday.
A series of powerful explosions last year at a chemicals warehouse in the northern city of Tianjin killed 165.
