At least 26 people have been killed and 61 more injured in central China, where a giant explosion ripped through a fireworks factory, local authorities said Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at around 4:43 p.m. Monday at the Liuyang Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Following the blast, all fireworks makers in Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, which administers Liuyang, had been ordered to stop production ahead of safety inspections, CCTV said.
Videos on social media from Monday showed continuous explosions accompanied by a vast cloud of smoke rising high into the air in a rural area surrounded by mountains.
Drone footage from CCTV taken a day later showed a swathe of smouldering debris where buildings had stood, with rescue workers and excavators scouring the rubble.
