The blast happened just after 11 am in the central part of the 30-metre-long two-storey primary school, where an estimated 200 schoolchildren and teachers were studying and working.

Most of the dead were thought to be children under 15. A number of teachers also died. By yesterday afternoon, more than 30 bodies have been found. Local hospitals were filled with victims and their relatives.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, but gunpowder was found at the site. There are a number of nearby fireworks factories.

The site is in the city of Yichun, 200 kilometres southwest of the province's capital Nanchang.

The blast caused four classrooms to collapse, burying students and teachers in debris.

A rescue team and investigators, led by the province's Vice-Governor Wang Jun, rushed to the school right after the accident.

County officials said gunpowder used for fireworks was found at the explosion site.

There are four fireworks factories near the school, the nearest one is only 1,500 metres away, said Hu Zuokun, an official with Jiangxi provincial government.

The official said Wanzai County is known for its fireworks production and the sector is one of the region's pillar industries.

Right after the accident, Shu Shengyou, governor of Jiangxi Province, and other leading Yichun officials, who were attending the National People's Congress's annual session in Beijing, rushed back to Jiangxi to handle the case, Hu said.

There were a number of fireworks explosions across the country last year which led to safety alerts from production supervision departments.

Safe production to safeguard people's lives and property should be one of a firm's key priorities, said An Yuanjie, an official with the State Bureau of Safety Production Supervision with the State Economy and Trade Commission.

The bureau is busy drafting a law to make factories safer. The draft is expected to be published at the end of the year, the official said.

(China Daily 03/08/2001)