Local authorities in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday confirmed 15 people died and six were injured in an explosion at a fireworks plant on Saturday.

The blast happened at about 10:13 a.m. on Saturday at the Xinxin Fireworks Plant in Sijiazi Township of Aohan Banner, killing 13 workers and injuring six others, two seriously. It also destroyed about 50 workshops, a regional work safety bureau spokesman said.

Rescuers found two more bodies in the debris early on Sunday, according to firefighters from Chifeng, a city in eastern Inner Mongolia, who participated in the rescue.

Fourteen of the dead, aged 25 to 68, were locals. The other was from Chaoyang, a city in neighboring Liaoning Province. Of the dead, 11 were women.

A preliminary investigation found the blast occurred when workers were weighing and mixing the ingredients for making fireworks.

The fatal accident was the responsibility of the production, which was resultant by the fireworks plant which violated the relevant rules and its workers who gravely went against set regulations, the spokesman said.

No further details were available.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2008)