22 people dead, 10 injured in NW China firecracker blast

URUMQI, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-two people were killed and 10 others injured in a firecracker explosion in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday.

The accident happened at about 7:00 p.m. when the city authorities of Turpan were destroying firecrackers on a desert seven to eight kilometers from the Turpan tollgate, local officials said.

The injured have been rushed to hospital.

The fire has been extinguished, and investigation is underway.