An injured worker receives treatment in a local hospital on Thursday, March 27, 2008, after a firecracker explosion occurred Wednesday evening in Turpan, northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [Photo: Xinhua]

Twenty-two people were killed and 10 others injured in a firecracker explosion in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday.

The accident happened at about 7:00 p.m. when the city authorities of Turpan were destroying firecrackers on a desert seven to eight kilometers from the Turpan tollgate, local officials said.

The injured have been rushed to hospital.

The fire has been extinguished, and investigation is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2008)