Two people were killed in a blast that ripped through a warehouse in Shaanxi Province Monday, an official said Tuesday.

The blast went off at about 7:30 p.m., tearing apart the 200-square-meter roof of a private house storing sodium chloride in Gaolou village, Baqiao District in the eastern suburb of Xi'an, the provincial capital.

A truck parked beside the depository was gutted by fire.

An initial investigation indicated that the truck driver might have triggered the blast by accident while repairing the vehicle, according to Nie Zhongqiu, head of Baqiao District.

The driver might be among the two victims killed at the site, Nie said.

The police were investigating the blast and identifying the victims. No more information was available.

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2008)