A fireworks explosion in a town in Northeast China's Liaoning Province killed 37 people and flattened buildings, the State Administration for Safe Production Supervision said yesterday.

The powerful explosion, which took place at a fireworks factory in Shuangmiaozi, a town located in the city of Tieling, also left several people hospitalized.

The accident happened at about 10 am yesterday, completely destroying the factory.

"Houses about 100 metres from the factory were damaged by fires caused by the explosion," Xinhua News Agency quoted a local witness as saying.

Deputy Director of the State Administration for Safe Production Supervision Wang Xuede headed a team of officials and experts to the scene of the accident, and joined the local public security bureau and supervision department for further investigation.

"The real cause of the explosion remains unknown," said a local police officer.

The blast occurred less than one month before Spring Festival, which starts on January 22, when many people in China will celebrate the festival by setting off firecrackers, though some big cities like Beijing and Shanghai have banned firecrackers for many years.

China has witnessed increasing numbers of fireworks-related accidents this year.

Official statistics show that in the first nine months of this year, a total of 98 such accidents happened in the nation, killing 209 people. This was an increase of 21 per cent and 41.2 per cent respectively over last year.

(China Daily December 31, 2003)