One person died and six were injured in an explosion in a residential building in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Wednesday, said local police.

The blast occurred at around 6:40 a.m. in a single-storey home in Lasengmiao Town, Wuhai City, 526 kilometers west of the regional capital Hohhot.

Fire-fighters had pulled seven people, one of whom died in the rescue attempt, from the building as of 10 a.m., and the injured were sent to the nearby People's Hospital of Hainan District.

The accident also damaged four residential buildings nearby.

Police said an initial investigation indicated an illegal stock of explosives had caused the blast.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2009)