Three people were killed and two were injured when a blast went off at a fireworks stall in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Tuesday afternoon, the local government said.

Harbin carried out an emergent overhaul on all fireworks stalls after a deadly explosion. The city's public security bureau vowed on Wednesday to immediately close down fireworks stalls and confiscate their goods, if safety loopholes were found.

The explosion occurred at about 2:20 p.m.. It also set fire to a convenience store next to the fireworks stall in Chenggaozi Township of Xiangfang District, said Wang Weixu, deputy mayor of Harbin.

The victims were a family, including 39-year-old Tan Shijie, his 13-year-old daughter Tan Yuyao and nine-year-old niece Li Yutong. They were buying firecrackers in the Hacheng Road Convenience Store when the accident happened, he said.

The injured were two drivers of the store's suppliers.

The fireworks dealer had legal license to sell the firecrackers. But he violated the regulations to store the firecrackers inside the stall, said Wang Weixu, deputy mayor of Harbin.

The stall owner has been detained by police.

Fireworks had a longstanding tradition in China's Spring Festival, which fell on Monday this year. It had been banned in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai in the early 1990s. Over the past two years, the ban was lifted in many cities to make people enjoy a better festive atmosphere. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2009)