The death toll of the explosion in the staff hospital of Xuangang Coal and Electricity Company in north China's Shanxi Province has risen to 30 as of 1:30 PM on Tuesday, confirmed the local sources.

The death toll might rise as the rescue operation is still going on, according to the rescue team.

The explosion took place at about 2:25 AM on Monday in a garage of the hospital in Yuanping city.

The patients at the hospital, many of whom got injured, have been transferred to Yuanping People's Hospital and Yuanping Railway Hospital.

The explosion has totally flatten a two-storey residential building and several small houses nearby. Buildings within one kilometer from the garage were damaged to certain extent and a five-storey medical staff building was damaged seriously nearby.

The blast also brought damages to more than 200 villagers living nearby, and many of them have been injured, said the rescue team.

Local government per day subsidized 50 yuan for each person who has no houses to live in, said Zhou Xixi, head of Xuangang village in Xuangang Township.

Local police have found large quantities of detonators and blasting fuses at the incident spot and is further investigating the cause of the explosion.

Police said the explosives might have been stored in the basement of the two-storey building, which housed a five-room garage on the first floor and 17 rooms living with people on the second floor.

The rescuers and medical teams arrived at the spot shortly after the explosion. Yang Anhe, director of the provincial public security bureau, and Shanxi Vice Governor Jin Shanzhong also rushed to the site to coordinate the rescue work.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2006)