Five people were killed and one injured in an explosion in an illegal makeshift workshop used to make electronic detonators in Wuji County, north China's Hebei Province.

The explosion occurred at 11:30 PM on Tuesday on the third floor of an office building belonging to the Wuji County Cotton and Flax Company, according to the spokesman for the public security bureau of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

It is currently unknown how many people were inside the building when the explosion happened.

The police found that the office building was rented by He Zhandong, from Xiguan Village in Wuji County, for making electronic detonators illegally.

The exact cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2006)