BEIJING // An explosion at a factory in eastern China killed 16 people and injured dozens of others, an official and state media said. The blast happened at 3am local time today at a factory producing quartz sand in Fengyang, a county in Anhui province, said an official at the State Administration of Work Safety. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. The Fengyang county government said it was still collecting information on the explosion. The work safety official, who would not give her name, said 16 people died in the explosion.
Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV said at least 44 people were injured. Xinhua said the factory was owned by Jingxin Mining, a private company, and that most of those killed were factory workers while the injured were all nearby residents. * AP
