The death toll from the early Wednesday explosion at a firecracker workshop in Luxi County, east China's Jiangxi Province, has risen to 16, three of whom died on the way to hospital.

The Huayuan Firecracker Mill at Yuannan Township exploded at about 7:00 am. Three injured people are now being treated in hospital, said the safety production authority.

Witnesses said the blast razed the workshop to the ground, damaging some workshops nearby and completely shattering the windowpanes of a residence some 100 meters away.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2004)