An explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province has killed at least 21 people and injured 61 others, state media reported.
China's official news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday that the blast occurred at a fireworks plant in Changsha city of Hunan province on Monday afternoon.
Nearly 500 rescuers were deployed to the scene, and evacuations were conducted in danger zones.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the blast.
President Xi Jinping has urged efforts to search for missing persons and save the injured, according to Xinhua.
The agency also said Xi demanded a proper handling of the aftermath and an investigation into the incident.
Industrial accidents, including in the fireworks industry, are common in China.
Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.
In February, separate explosions at fireworks shops in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces killed 12 and eight people.
