Three people are missing and 12 are injured after an explosion in a pharmaceutical factory in Jiangxi Province, east China.

The explosion occurred at 3:20 PM on Tuesday at Ganhui Pharmaceutical Chemical Industrial Co. when 15 workers carrying out repairs in a workshop sparked a fire that caused the workshop to collapse, according to a source with the local fire brigade.

Twelve workers were injured in the blast, including one who was seriously injured, but most of the injured suffered only bruising.

Ganhui Pharmaceutical Chemical Industrial Co., which specializes in ingredients for medical use, such as nitrodiphenyl, is built on the Ganjiang River, a tributary of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake.

The fire was extinguished three hours later.

Since water was not used in fighting the fire, the explosion caused no pollution to the river, said the fire fighters.

The search for the three workers buried under the rubble is continuing.

The cause of the explosion is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2007)