The death toll from a powerful explosion at an illegal firecracker depot in northern China's Heibei Province has jumped to 15, officials said today.
The explosion yesterday oocured in Ningjin County's Dongwang Township, also left two other persons wounded.
The explosion was so powerful that it shattered the glass windows of a residential building nearby, and of even those of a flour factory about a kilometre away from the warehouse, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Bloodstains were also spotted at the entry of a garment factory nearby.
Photos on the news website 163.Com appeared to show the depot's roof had blown off.
Authorities yesterday deployed heavy machinery for search and rescue. The cause of the blast was not ascertained yet but investigators were looking into possible reasons.
China is the world's largest producer of fireworks.
