At least seven people were killed and 16 others injured in an explosion on Thursday afternoon at a firecracker workshop at Baihe Village of Yiyang City, central China's Hunan Province.

The blast occurred around 1:10 PM in the firecracker plant. Seven bodies have been discovered at the site of the accident by press time, and the 16 injured people have been hospitalized, said Jiang Zuobin, secretary of the city's Communist Party Committee, who is monitoring the rescue work at the site.

The plant is run by a local villager, Li Fulin. Witnesses said six workshops were damaged in the blast.

Rescue is still underway, and cause of the accident is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2004)