Sunday, April 2 2006 14:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: At least 20 people were killed and two others injured when a blast ripped through an explosives plant in east China's Shandong Province, a local government official said today (Apr 2, 2006).

Twenty workers died on-the-spot, two injured and nine others were missing after the blast hit the explosives plant in Zhaoyuan city of the province yesterday, the official said.

Rescuers were searching for the nine missing workers, the official Xinhua sources quoted the provincial administration of production safety as saying.

The injured had been hospitalised and were in stable condition, according to the administration.

The blast occurred at a packing workshop of the plant when 31 workers were working at the site.

A task force of the provincial government, headed by a vice governor, was at the site of the explosion to organize rescue work.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.