The search continues for nine people who are missing following a blast in an explosives-making plant Saturday in Zhaoyuan, a city in east China's Shandong Province, rescuers said today.

 

The blast went off at a packing workshop of the No.761 Explosives Co Ltd in Liuxian Village at 7:05 PM on Saturday when 31 employees were at the site. Twenty were killed outright and two others were injured and hospitalized. They are in a stable condition, hospital sources said.

 

Experts from state departments were at the site continuing with their investigation into the cause of the explosion. A large team of firemen and workers continued searching for missing people and collecting debris on Monday morning.

 

The force of the blast cut down young trees?that were 20 meters away from the explosion.

 

Established in 1976, the plant, a privately-owned share-holding business, employs 600 workers. It produces 15,000 tons of explosives annually and sells the product to nearby mines. Zhaoyuan is a major gold production base in China, where large quantities of explosives are used annually.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2006)