Chinese fireworks blast kills 16
15/07/2004 - 09:06:32A cache of homemade explosives blew up in a village in northern China, killing 16 people and knocking down 16 houses, the government said today.
The blast last night in the village of Huilong in Shanxi province also injured eight people, said local officials cited by the official Xinhua News Agency.
The blast was traced to a home workshop where a villager named Han Weichun made and stored explosives, Xinhua said. It said Han and his family were killed.
China has a large cottage industry that produces fireworks and explosives in village homes for mining and construction, despite frequent fatal accidents.
In one of the deadliest, more than 100 villagers were killed in July 2001 when explosives stored in a house blew up in the northern village of Mafang.
