Twelve people were killed, 43 injured, eight seriously, and one is missing after an explosion ripped through a part of Xinche Village in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The blast occurred at about 23:20 Monday in Xinche Village located in Mile County in Yunnan Province, according to local sources.

A preliminary investigation by police showed that the explosion blew a "funnel" shaped crater in the ground 18.5 meters wide and 5.6 meters deep.

In addition to the human casualties, 47 houses were damaged, and 17 destroyed.

"It was louder than the loudest thunder I have ever heard," said a villager from the neighboring village.

"It looks like one of those atomic tomb explosions I've seen on TV," another villager told Xinhua reporters.

The county government has sent a group of investigators and rescuers to the site to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2005)