Eleven people were confirmed killed and eight others injured after the explosives hidden in a rural home in Hougou village, Puxian County, in north China's Shanxi Province, blew up on Wednesday afternoon.

Among the dead were Liu Weiwei, a nine-year-old boy, and Yang Jing, a seven-year-old girl, both of whom were students at a primary school close to the site of explosion. Schoolteacher Liu Yanjie, 34, one migrant worker and seven villagers were also killed.

Two of those injured were also students, according to local sources.

The sources said that explosives hidden inside the home of Lu Maolin exploded at 4:10 PM on Wednesday. Seven people were killed instantly and four more died later in the hospital.

Lu, who operated a catering business and a pharmaceutical shop, was also killed in the blast.

At press time, all the injured remained hospitalized.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2005)